Former Royal Challengers Bangalore star AB de Villiers said that the RCB team’s defeat against Gujarat Titans is a tough pill to swallow and hailed Royal Challengers Bangalore’s lone warrior Virat Kohli for his phenomenal century in the must-win game on Sunday.
Ab de Villiers played for RCB from 2011 to 2018 and became one of the most celebrated players in the league. With his incredible batting skills and ability to change the game in a matter of overs, de Villiers quickly became a fan favourite in India.
After the loss of Royal Challengers Bangalore to defending champions Gujarat Titans, The former South African skipper said that it is a tough pill to swallow and lauded young Indian opener Shubman Gill for his outstanding century in the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
De Villiers on his Twitter wrote, “Tough pill to swallow. Well tried RCB. Shubman Gill and the Titans simply too good today.”
Tough pill to swallow. Well tried RCB. Shubman Gill and the Titans simply too good today
— AB de Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) May 21, 2023
Earlier he tweeted that Virat Kohli performed exceptionally well when the team needed him the most.
“Virat is there when we need him!” Tweeted.
Royal Challengers Bangalore faced the defending champions Gujarat Titans in a do-or-die match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday, May 21, but could not win against the Hardik Pandya-led side as they lost games by six wickets which eventually ruled them out of the playoff spot.
Virat Kohli scored a hundred for RCB in the match but his efforts went in vain., as he found no support from any batters on the other end and the bowlers could not help their side to defend the total in the game, as they could not pick up wickets in the regular intervals as Shubman Gill scored a fantastic hundred to chase down the target in the final over.
Speaking to the media, after their heartbreaking loss against Gujarat Titans, Faf du Plessis praised his team for their efforts on the field and also admitted that their finisher Dinesh Karthik could not replicate his fine form from last season.
“I can’t ask anything better from the boys. Last year, everything went well for us. We were expecting people to challenge us. The boys showed tremendous character,” Faf du Plessis said.
“Last year DK had a purple patch and was finishing games left right, and center, but this season it wasn’t to be,” he added.
Earlier before the start of the tournament AB De Villiers, along with another RCB legend Chris Gayle became the first two cricketers to be inducted into the RCB Hall of Fame during the ‘Unbox’ event which marked the celebrations of the franchise’s 15th anniversary at Bengaluru’s iconic M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers were presented with special mementoes and as a special gesture retired their jersey numbers (333 and 17).