An AB de Villiers‘ master class against Delhi Daredevils saw Royal Challengers Bangalore clinch a comfortable victory by six wickets.
The destructive innovator had played one of the best knocks of IPL 2018, to see his side reach home. The win is crucial for the franchise, as they looked out of sorts in their first four games.
Having won the toss, Virat Kohli chose to field on a two-paced wicket. The Delhi openers could not make the most out of the first six overs and got dismissed inside the power play.
However, youngsters Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer took the charge and started to counter Bangalore bowlers.
The duo reached the fifties in the process. Pant was exceptional in his power hitting over the course of the innings. His heroics had helped Delhi reach a par score of 174 in their 20 overs. Asked to chase a tricky 175, Bangalore openers once again did not live up to the expectations.
Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers formed a decent partnership and ensured the team did not lose more wickets in the middle overs. But a sensational catch from Boult saw the end of Virat Kohli. Although there is little support from others, AB de Villiers continued his humongous hitting and saw his side to a desperate win.
Gautam Gambhir reckoned that the difference between the sides was AB de Villiers. Speaking after the game, he said,
“I thought AB took the game away from us, the way he batted. We were very much in the game after scoring 175. At one point getting to 150-155 looked difficult.
“It was a bit tacky in the first six overs. Shreyas was unbelievable; Pant was unbelievable too. Our spinners could have bowled better against AB in the first six overs. When the left arm spinners were bowling the ball was gripping as the ball was new, the seam was new, one wicket there and it was our game. AB took on the spinners and got away with it.”
The skipper was also full of praise for Trent Boult for his sensational catch to dismiss Virat Kohli. He said,
“It was the best catch I’ve ever seen. It was unbelievable because he’s a left-hander and he grabbed it in his right hand. It’s never easy.”
However, he reckons his side needs to start winning games. The team now lie at the bottom of the table with just one win in their first five games.
“Things are getting desperate for us, and hopefully we can turn things around when we go back home. We are professional cricketers, and there can’t be excuses. Hopefully, we can win a few and get the momentum in our favour.
“If you see the points table most of the teams are close to each other. So we need to reach the mid of the table first and then maybe in the top four.