Published: Jun 09, 2016, 02:34 PM (IST)
Edited: Jun 09, 2016, 06:17 PM (IST)
AB de Villiers — the superman of the cricketing world — had a spectacular Indian Premier League (IPL) 9. He finished as the third highest run-scorer after Virat Kohli and David Warner. But, did you know that de Villiers did not want to participate in the recently concluded IPL? It is hard to believe, isn’t it? This decision came as a result of South Africa’s hectic schedule, which included a three-match T20 series against Australia followed by ICC World T20 2016. However, fate had something else in store for him. He put up a stellar performance for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and guided them to the final. ALSO READ: West Indies Tri-nation series 2016: Will AB de Villiers deliver like he did in IPL 2016?
de Villiers scored 687 runs in 16 matches at an average of 52.84, which included one century and six half-centuries. And, he was one of the prime reasons RCB made it into the ultimate stage. He shared five 100-plus partnerships with his skipper Kohli, helping his team put up a mammoth totals on the scoreboard. The highlight was the 229-run stand between them at Rajkot against Gujarat Lions (GL), which propelled them to the Playoffs with ease. He was awarded Player of the Match for his unbeaten 129. ALSO READ: AB de Villiers rues South Africa’s batting collapse against West Indies in Tri-Nation series 2016
He took the side out of the wood on multiple occasions. Moreover, he displayed an excellent show of character against GL in the Qualifier 1. RCB were reduced to 5 for 29, chasing a target of 159. After Stuart Binny departed for a quick-fire 21, the scoreboard read 6 for 68. RCB needed someone to step up and take the onus. And, de Villiers was the only player who could take the team over the line. ALSO READ: Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers: Cricket’s own Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer
He started to pick ones and twos in order to keep the scorebard ticking. He picked up an odd boundary whenever the run-rate scaled up. He kept wickets intact and made sure Iqbal Abdulla did the same. He didn’t mind maintaining a steady run-rate of 6 RPO. He, in fact, backed his ability to score runs at the end of the innings. ALSO READ: Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers: A club of mutual admiration
It was after the time-out he went all guns blazing. He took on the in-form bowler Dwayne Smith and blasted him for 14 runs in an over followed by Shadab Jakati’s expensive over. At the end of the innings, Abdulla joined the act and took Dwayne Bravo to the cleaners, ensuring RCB reach home without any further trouble. de Villiers scored a match-winning 79 not out and took RCB to its third IPL final. He was in the forefront of a rescue mission and ensured that the chokers’ tag was removed off him.
Unfortunately, he failed to emulate his stunning show in the final against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Nonetheless, de Villiers’ performance throughout the tournament was exceptional.
Had he skipped IPL 9, we wouldn’t have witnessed AB’s masterful batsmanship.
(Arun Rawal, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a daydreamer, movie buff, and cricket fanatic. He could not play cricket, so did the next best thing, writing for it. He loves to play the flick shot over square leg, and believes Sachin Tendulkar is God. His twitter handle is @ArunRawal93)
