AB de Villiers showed India how to deal with Australia’s quick attack ahead of their Down Under tour by skinning Pat Cummins in Monday’s Indian Premier League (IPL) game, leading to their captain from Bangalore. , Virat Kohli, to call him ‘superman’.
De Villiers broke a whirlwind of 73, not out of 33 balls, to set up the 82-race Royal Challengers Bangalore fight against Kolkata Knight Riders and Cummins couldn’t escape the chaos.
The Australian spearhead had given up 19 runs in his first three overs, but finished 4-0-38-0 after De Villiers hit two sixes and one four in Bangalore’s 17th over innings.
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“Except for one superhuman, every hitter struggled on the court,” India captain Kohli, who will take his team to Australia for a full series later this year, said of de Villiers after the Sharjah game.
“Only AB can do what it did. It was a fabulous hit. We were looking at 160-165, and it was only thanks to his genius that we got to 194.
“I was glad that we could form a partnership, and mine was the best seat to watch from,” said Kohli, who was content to be the second fiddler for the South African with 33 undefeated.
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Bangalore is now third in the points table, behind defending champions Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals.
Delhi’s injury problems continue to mount with pitcher Ishant Sharma ruled out of the remainder of the tournament with a muscle injury.
Delhi has already lost veteran Amit Mishra to a finger injury, while goalkeeper Rishabh Pant will also be out of action for a week with a sore hamstring.
The last Kings XI Punjab got a boost with starter Chris Gayle declared fit for Thursday’s game against Bangalore after being hospitalized with a stomach problem.
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