AB de Villiers in action against Delhi Daredevils. (BCCI)
New Delhi: There is hardly any doubt that South Africa batsman AB de Villiers is one of the best batsman in the world. His 90 off just 39 balls for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Delhi Daredevils on Saturday was a clear indication that he has returned to form.
Chasing a stiff target of 175, de Villiers came into bat at a time when RCB were struggling at 29/2. But from thereon it was just one-man show. The Protean went on to smash Delhi bowlers for 10 fours and five sixes. Before this blistering innings, ABD had just one fifty for his team, in this year’s IPL.
Skipper Virat Kohli was all praise for AB, and went on to call him the best player in the world.
“The guy (AB) in our team gives us plenty of reasons to smile. We understand situations, understand each other’s games well. He started off in a great way, my job then became to stick it out, string in a 65-70 run partnership. And then the opposition know they have to protect the game, rather than going for a win,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation.
He further continued, “It was a pity I couldn’t stay till the end, but Corey and Mandy did really well to support him. They kept taking singles with positive intent and that is great to see. But AB just keeps taking the game away and that’s why there’s no doubt why he’s the best player in the world.”
The Kohli-de Villiers duo have a mutual respect that is evident. Earlier, Kohli had revealed that watching him bat had helped him succeed during the South Africa series.
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