Proteas blitz shoddy Windies by 257 runs in WC tie

Swashbuckling skipper AB de Villiers struck the fastest ever 150 runs in ODI history off 64 balls as he anchored South Africa to record a 257-run victory over the West Indies in their World Cup Pool B tie in Sydney.

Opting to bat first, South Africa piled up an imposing target of 408, thanks to De Villiers' unbeaten 162-run knock and constructive knocks from Hashim Amla (65), Faf du Plessis (62) and Rilee Rossouw (61).

In the process, De Villiers, who has been named as the Man-of-the-Match, also hit the second fastest World Cup ton off just 52 deliveries.

South Africa suffered an early blow in the form of Quinton de Kock after he was dismissed for 12 runs off a Jason Holder's delivery.

However, Amla found an able ally in Du Plessis as the duo built up a 127-run partnership for the second wicket.

Chris Gayle provided West Indies with much needed breakthroughs as he scalped the wickets of set batsmen Amla and Plessis in quick succession.

South Africa were slugging at 146-3 in the 30th over as De Villiers and Rossouw subsequently went on to accelerate the innings as the duo accumulated a solid 134-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

Following the dismissal of Rossouw and David Miller (20), the skipper switched on his menacing mode as he smacked a brisk 68 runs in the last 20 deliveries.

Chasing the target, West Indies lost wickets at regular sessions and failed to build any substantial partnership, with skipper Holder being the highest scorer for the team with his individual score of 56 runs before the team got bowled out for 151 runs.

Imran Tahir was the pick of the bowlers for South Africa as he captured a five-wicket haul, which included the wickets of Dwayne Smith (31), Denesh Ramdin (22), Lendl Simmons (0), Darren Sammy (5) and Andre Russell (0).

Gayle (3) and Marlon Samuels (0), who smashed centuries against Zimbabwe, failed to provide initial thrust as they fell prey to Kyle Abbott' express delivery.

The win has lifted South Africa to the second spot in Pool B, while the West Indies are at fourth.