A mind-boggling repertoire of shots was unfurled by Royal Challengers Bangalore batsman A.B. de Villiers during his match-winning unbeaten 79 against Gujarat Lions here on Tuesday, but the South African insists that there is a fine line between getting out to a bad shot and pulling off the incredible.
de Villiers explained that he follows his natural instinct, unlike his captain Virat Kohli - a more meticulous customer.
“Throughout the innings, Virat (Kohli) was full of energy and giving us a lot of information from the dugout. I told him, ‘Virat, I’ll just go about it naturally’. I don’t think too much, while Kohli is a thinker. I do try and assess what’s going on, but I’m never 100 per cent sure. After crossing the line, it’s easy to say that I played those shots after assessing the risks. But had I got out in the last three overs, everyone would have said that I had made a bad decision. It’s a fine line, but I follow my instincts. I’ve played the game for many years now, and I know that my talent will take over if I just watch the ball and enjoy myself. We had a smile on our faces, even though we were under a lot of pressure and very nervous. That’s the key for me – watch the ball and enjoy the cricket,” he said, after guiding his side to the final.
The 32-year-old was all praise for Iqbal Abdulla, who joined him at the crease with RCB needing 91 runs off 62 balls. Their unbroken seventh-wicket partnership — Abdulla contributed a vital 33 not-out in 25 balls — lifted the franchise out of a hole. “I thought that I’d have to say a lot to him (Abdulla), but he was probably calmer than I was. You could see he has done this before. He straightaway understood what I was trying to tell him, and I didn’t have to talk to him after that,” de Villiers said.
The threat of rain helped the duo up the ante, even if it forced them to attempt some risky shots. “Now that we’ve won the game, you can say that the threat of rain played in our advantage. But had I got out, everyone would have asked, ‘Are you stupid, what are you doing?’. Virat had sent a message telling us to be more positive, with the rain around.
“Luckily, that gave us momentum, and with the crowd getting us pumped up, we were never going to lose.”
