AB de Villiers showed once again what a freakish batsman he is in powering the Royal Challengers Banglore to a sensational win over the Rajasthan Royals on Saturday.
The Royal Challengers needed 35 runs to win off the final two overs and looked to be the underdogs until de Villiers took the game by the scruff of its neck.
Jaydev Unadkat was chosen to bowl the penultimate over and may rue getting his hands on that pill.
De Villiers targeted him early in the over with the quick missing his length and travelling for three successive sixes which changed the complexion of the game.
AB de Villiers pulls it back from the brink
The former Proteas skipper found himself at the crease in the thirteenth over with his first act being watching Virat Kohli lose his wicket to leave RCB 102 for 3 chasing 178 to win.
De Villiers was ably assisted by Indian allrounder Gurkeerat Singh who also picked up a boundary in Unadkat’s final over.
Singh was stuck on strike for the first ball of Jofra Archer’s last over and surprisingly de Villiers was keen to run two off the first ball. Singh turned the strike over with four balls to go but the 36-year-old only needed two.
De Villiers first ran hard to get another two before launching Archer into the empty stands to give RCB a seven-wicket win with two balls to spare.
The man they call Mr 360 ended with 55 not out off just 22 balls and won the man of the match award.
What he said
Speaking after the match de Villiers said: “Extremely happy.
“I felt we bowled as well as we could have. Leaked some runs, no-balls which usually Yuzi doesn’t do. Went in feeling we gave away 15-20 too much. But Virat and I spoke that we string together some partnerships and then go ahead.
“I’m very very nervous and erratic [in chase] and I get very stressed like any player. I want to perform for the team and show the owners I’m here for a good reason. And family, fans, and also for myself. Last game, I didn’t perform my role as well as I should have, but this time I did. It’s a cat and mouse game. I always respect the bowlers. If they bowl well to me, they’ll have the upper hand. I didn’t hit even one of them [sixes] off the middle. When Unadkat was bowling, I was looking leg side but to be honest, I was nervous because I knew I had to hit it well. Luckily I got a few away. We’ve had some good games, and we’ve had some average games as well, let’s not kid ourselves. There’s a reason we’re not at the top of the table.
Watch AB de Villiers win it for RCB
