Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) head coach Simon Katich lauded the masterful batsmanship of AB de Villiers after he bailed his team out from another difficult situation to victory over Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Dubai this Saturday (October 17) in IPL 2020.
Chasing a strenuous 178-run target, RCB had found themselves 102/2 in the 13th over, needing 76 runs off the last 7 overs, an equation which later became 35 required from the last 12 balls. However, De Villiers, once set, blasted six sixes, including three in the 19th over, to take RCB through with two balls to spare via an unbeaten 55 in just 22 deliveries.
"Yeah he (de Villiers) is a freak isn't he and that's why he is the greatest of all time. I think what we saw today was another master class," said Katich in the post-match press conference, as quoted by ANI.
De Villiers continued from where he left against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the last match in Sharjah, in which also he was the difference between the two sides on a sluggish pitch.
"We have seen n number of already in this tournament. He had one against Mumbai which was magnificent. We made sure that he batted in his right position there, we learned from our previous mistake," Katich said.
Katich did also acknowledge the efforts of Chris Morris (4/26), Navdeep Saini (0/30) and Yuzvendra Chahal (2/34), as they made sure RR weren't able to post a more intimidating total than their 177/6, but the coach had no hesitation saying it was De Villiers who "single-handedly" did it for RCB at the end.
"He (De Villiers) was wonderful and the main reason we won the game today. Chris Morris was brilliant and Chahal also put us back in the game with his two after they got off to a really good start. We have very crucial performances from other players but AB basically won us the game single-handedly," Katich signed off.
Third in the points table now with six wins in nine matches, RCB next lock horns with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Wednesday (October 21) in Abu Dhabi.
