AB De Villiers couldn’t score a run off the first five balls he faced. He finished on 133 off 59 balls when Bangalore ended. Over 54 deliveries, he erupted.
Or did he? “Eruption” is not the word you should use to describe this innings. Chris Gayle erupts. Pollard erupts. Warner erupts. When they erupt, there is brute force and muscle all around, with batsmen swinging wildly and the ball travelling mightily. To seal the metaphor, it is like a volcano erupting, spewing hot ash and molten magma surging everywhere, taking its entire surroundings down.
One ball, six shots
De Villiers does not erupt. He just plays cricket. The way he knows it, so distinctly different from anyone else who has played this game before. Cricket commentators often pointed out that some of the greats like Sachin Tendulkar could play two shots to the same delivery. De Villiers is on a higher plane, he probably has six or seven shots for a delivery. This is probably what goes through his head when he’s playing a ball:
“Ahh…nice low yorker, just outside off stump. Hmm, let me see, should I move a step outside leg and hit it over cover? No wait, the cover fielder is too deep. Hit it straight? Naah, might not be able to clear Pollard at long on. I’ll just take a step across and hit it a little wide over mid-wicket…oh yes, there she goes…”
All this in the span of maybe half a second. There is no pulverization. No effort to hit it into the highest tier. De Villiers’ batting is just classy. He moves faster than the ball and invariably despatches it to a vacant part of the field. There are no mishits. No freak edges running away behind the wicket. Each and every shot is sublime.
For the record, Royal Challengers Bangalore scored a monstrous 236/1 and won the game quite easily at the end by 39 runs. But, when you see an innings like this, the result fades into oblivion. Like McCullum’s epic 158 in the inaugural IPL match, years from now, people will forget the teams and the venue but will forever remember this scintillating display of strokeplay from the diminutive South African.
Kohli Overshadowed
Overshadowed he might have been, but that was just because of the genius that is ABD. On any other day, Kohli’s 82 off 50 balls would have been the top billing of a madcap afternoon. Credit to Kohli that he stayed calm and played his own game. The temptation to get carried away and try and emulate De Villiers must have been there, but Kohli is increasingly proving that he has a mature head on his shoulders.
Not that any of his batting was devoid of class. Leave aside the drop off Malinga, Kohli’s batting was a demonstration of why he is India’s best batsman right now. He relentlessly kept on coming down the track, even to the pacers and carved balls away over cover. He played his favourite flick shot with abandon, easily getting singles and passing over the strike.
Harbhajan Singh had already gone for an expensive first over but Mumbai Indians would have hoped that their Turbanator would have more in the tank. Kohli had other plans – he danced down the track off the fourth ball of Harbhajan’s second four and deposited him over deep mid wicket for a massive six. That was it – Harbhajan was taken out of the attack. Rohit Sharma got so disheartened that he didn’t even bring his premier off-spinner back again, preferring to stick with Bumrah and Pandya.
RCB On course for playoffs
After winning only one out of their first four matches, the Royal Challengers have now won five out of their last six completed games. But, more importantly, this run has ensured that they have put themselves in a very comfortable position to qualify for the playoffs.
With three games remaining and two of them against wooden spooners Punjab and Delhi, Bangalore will fancy their chances. And if De Villiers carries on in this vein of form, even a first IPL title might not remain just wishful thinking.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (235 for 1) beat Mumbai Indians (196 for 7) by 39 runs.
Or did he? “Eruption” is not the word you should use to describe this innings. Chris Gayle erupts. Pollard erupts. Warner erupts. When they erupt, there is brute force and muscle all around, with batsmen swinging wildly and the ball travelling mightily. To seal the metaphor, it is like a volcano erupting, spewing hot ash and molten magma surging everywhere, taking its entire surroundings down.
One ball, six shots
De Villiers does not erupt. He just plays cricket. The way he knows it, so distinctly different from anyone else who has played this game before. Cricket commentators often pointed out that some of the greats like Sachin Tendulkar could play two shots to the same delivery. De Villiers is on a higher plane, he probably has six or seven shots for a delivery. This is probably what goes through his head when he’s playing a ball:
“Ahh…nice low yorker, just outside off stump. Hmm, let me see, should I move a step outside leg and hit it over cover? No wait, the cover fielder is too deep. Hit it straight? Naah, might not be able to clear Pollard at long on. I’ll just take a step across and hit it a little wide over mid-wicket…oh yes, there she goes…”
All this in the span of maybe half a second. There is no pulverization. No effort to hit it into the highest tier. De Villiers’ batting is just classy. He moves faster than the ball and invariably despatches it to a vacant part of the field. There are no mishits. No freak edges running away behind the wicket. Each and every shot is sublime.
For the record, Royal Challengers Bangalore scored a monstrous 236/1 and won the game quite easily at the end by 39 runs. But, when you see an innings like this, the result fades into oblivion. Like McCullum’s epic 158 in the inaugural IPL match, years from now, people will forget the teams and the venue but will forever remember this scintillating display of strokeplay from the diminutive South African.
Kohli Overshadowed
Overshadowed he might have been, but that was just because of the genius that is ABD. On any other day, Kohli’s 82 off 50 balls would have been the top billing of a madcap afternoon. Credit to Kohli that he stayed calm and played his own game. The temptation to get carried away and try and emulate De Villiers must have been there, but Kohli is increasingly proving that he has a mature head on his shoulders.
Not that any of his batting was devoid of class. Leave aside the drop off Malinga, Kohli’s batting was a demonstration of why he is India’s best batsman right now. He relentlessly kept on coming down the track, even to the pacers and carved balls away over cover. He played his favourite flick shot with abandon, easily getting singles and passing over the strike.
Harbhajan Singh had already gone for an expensive first over but Mumbai Indians would have hoped that their Turbanator would have more in the tank. Kohli had other plans – he danced down the track off the fourth ball of Harbhajan’s second four and deposited him over deep mid wicket for a massive six. That was it – Harbhajan was taken out of the attack. Rohit Sharma got so disheartened that he didn’t even bring his premier off-spinner back again, preferring to stick with Bumrah and Pandya.
RCB On course for playoffs
After winning only one out of their first four matches, the Royal Challengers have now won five out of their last six completed games. But, more importantly, this run has ensured that they have put themselves in a very comfortable position to qualify for the playoffs.
With three games remaining and two of them against wooden spooners Punjab and Delhi, Bangalore will fancy their chances. And if De Villiers carries on in this vein of form, even a first IPL title might not remain just wishful thinking.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (235 for 1) beat Mumbai Indians (196 for 7) by 39 runs.
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