NZ's hilarious tactic to unsettle AB de Villiers

New Zealand have made an unusual attempt to unsettle South Africa gun AB de Villiers during their one-day international series across the Tasman.

During the fourth match of the series on Wednesday, the staff at Hamilton's Seddon Park blasted the skipper's own song 'Maak Jou Drome Waar' on the loudspeaker during a break in play when de Villiers was at the crease.

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A talented musician, de Villiers co-produced an album in 2010 and the track 'Maak Jou Drome Waar', which translates from Afrikaans to Make Your Dreams Come True, was the hit single.

But the hilarious strategy didn't quite have the desired effect.  

"I was singing along," de Villiers said with a laugh after play.

"No one picked it up but I was actually playing a bit of air guitar on my bat as well. I thought I'd be on the highlights package.

"I love it. They've got to do it more often."

The Proteas skipper certainly wasn't unsettled by the musical interlude, hitting three sixes and four fours in his unbeaten innings of 72 from 59 balls.

His knock included an outrageous reverse pull shot from a slower ball bouncer (watch at 57 seconds in the video below), which he sent to the third-man boundary as he hit out late in South Africa's innings of 8-279.

"They bowled pretty well at the end and even though we got hold of them, I wasn't expecting that ball," he said.

"I just adapted to what I saw and luckily I got it in the middle."

The skipper's late show wasn't nearly enough for the Proteas, however, as Martin Guptill roared back from injury with a record-breaking 180 as New Zealand won by seven wickets to level the series.

Guptill's score was the highest by a New Zealander in an ODI chase and allowed the Black Caps to overhaul the 280 target with five overs to spare.

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"It's pretty up there, possibly No.1," Guptill said when asked if his innings, which included 11 sixes, was the best of his career.

"I'm reasonably happy with how today went without a lot of preparation.

"Decent stick (bat) I've got, I'll put that one on ice until next time."

The result avenges the New Zealanders' 159-run loss in the previous match and levels the five-match series 2-2, and Australia have good reason to pay close attention to the decider in Auckland on Saturday.

Australia edged past South Africa at the summit of the International Cricket Council's ODI rankings after de Villiers' side lost in Hamilton, meaning the fifth ODI at Eden Park is a must-win for the Proteas if they want to take back top spot.

The top-ranked ODI side come April 1, the 'official' end of the international season, will pocket a hefty cheque from the ICC.