After advice from wife, AB de Villiers goes down on one knee and delivers another T20 masterclass

Chants of ABD! ABD! rang through the stands of Indore’s Holkar Stadium on Monday. For the uninitiated, it would have felt the game was underway at Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy home of AB de Villiers’ Royal Challengers Bangalore. In fact, it was the home base for Kings XI Punjab, their opponents for the day.

The crowd was not worried about such nitty-gritties. For them, it was de Villiers’ first game of the Indian Premier League this season. And the swashbuckling star took the field, as if he was never injured. There was no sign of rust. Here was a player after years of practice and perfection was just going through the motions. The fact that it was an IPL game was purely coincidental.

His confidence was underscored by the surefooted approach he applied to the game. For 58 of his 46-ball 89 were scored off the last 18 balls he faced. If the first 28 balls were executed with steady concentration and resolve, the rest was just well-calculated carnage. While the effort could not secure his side the win, it was a performance that deserved a lot of praise.

Going down on one knee repeatedly, a move he has made his own, de Villiers provided the full range of his shots. His preferred area of expertise though was the square leg and mid-wicket region. None of his shots were pre-meditated. He had a shot for every delivery the bowlers had to offer. It spoke volumes of control as his teammates withered under the weight of clinical bowling performance from Kings XI.

It is not to say he did not take risks when he first came at the crease. He peppered his knock with sixes and boundaries. But it was not until the 17th over that he really let the bowlers have it. In all, he smashed three boundaries and nine sixes, two of which ended up on top of the roof.

To say, RCB missed his services in the first two games would be an understatement. It was quite clear that the 2016 runners-up would have struggled if not for his presence.
Suffering from a back strain, the South African star sat out of the first two games.

RCB have been laid low by injuries this season. De Villiers, considered one of the best proponents of the T20 game, was surely going to be missed. In his absence, the team clearly struggled.

His presence too could not shield the ineptitude of the rest of his teammates, who failed to provide support. While de Villiers scored 89 off 46 balls, the rest could only conjure up 55 runs off 74 balls. The team posted a target of 149, a challenge Kings XI overcame without breaking much of a sweat.

But, it could not take away from what de Villiers had delivered... another T20 masterclass.

Taking his wife’s advice

While, the world was convinced de Villiers can do no wrong, he himself had a few self doubts about performing, having returned to action following a lengthy recovery period from his back injury. “I did surprise myself,” de Villiers said while speaking to the commentators during the game.

“It is more of a mental thing than anything else, it’s not like you become a bad player overnight, the rustiness you refer to is more self-doubt, which was there over the last few days. I phoned my wife just before the game telling her that I am doubting myself a bit but I surprised myself and played a few good shots.

Asked what advice his wife gave, de Villiers said: “Actually, she was lying down with my children and had to call back later, and told me not to worry.”

“She told me that she backs me and to stay calm and that she was on her way, arriving tomorrow, so I think that was the inspiration.”

Realising that he might have revealed his sensitive side, de Villiers quickly clammed up. “I am going cheesy on air!,” he quipped.

Making up for Kohli and Gayle’s absence

Injuries dented RCB’s campaign even before it began. With skipper Kohli still a few weeks away from action, the onus was on others to step up. KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan are the other two casualties to the batting line-up. The re-flaring of de Villiers’ back strain had ruled him out of the first two games to add a further setback to the side.

With a batting order left weak, it was not surprising to see them struggle in the first two games. It needed tactful bowling in the death overs to get them over the line in their previous game against Delhi Daredevils.

On Monday, de Villiers’ return came as a music to the ears of the RCB faithful and cricket aficionados across the board. His inclusion, though, came at a price. It meant, talismatic opener Chris Gayle had to be benched. The Jamaican, who is just 25 runs away from reaching 10000 runs in T20 cricket, sat out as the team could not fit him in the four slots for foreign players.

It just added to the weight of expectations on de Villiers, who is sure to have felt it as soon as he walked on to the field, after skipper Watson fell in the opening over of the game.

The 33-year-old soaked in all the pressure and produced a champion performance. Unfortunately, the knock could not win RCB the game. But, there is a long season to follow. If a sore de Villiers can raise the roof like he did on Monday, it is not beyond the realm of possibility to see a few more of these gems from the South Africa ODI skipper.

Considering de Villiers was harbouring a sense of self doubt, it augurs well for him and RCB, that he could perform to his lofty standards in his first game back from injury. For his team needs him now more than ever, and if his knock in Indore was any indication, there seems to be no doubt that AB will deliver.