The South African batsman revealed he was nervous on his IPL 10 debut before a crucial phone call from his wife changed everything.
AB de Villiers (ABD) can be hailed as 'Superman' in the cricketing fraternity but is still a human being at the end of the day. After missing out on the first two games of IPL 2017, the Proteas hitman felt some niggle in his confidence tank before setting foot on the cricket pitch.
Incidentally, he was in the thick of things earlier than expected when Axar Patel broke Royal Challangers Bangalore (RCB) interim Captain Shane Watson's defence at the very first over. Thereafter, it was an ABD show turning Indore to a burning pandemonium for the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) bowlers.
De Villiers was wired up during Punjab's chase and Sanjay Manjrekar asked him how he managed to change gear right from his first outing. There he revealed, 'how a timely phone call' had helped him overcome a creeping self-doubt.
De Villiers blushed like a school kid while replying that, "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." He added further that "she backs me and to stay calm and that she was on her way, arriving tomorrow, so I think that was the inspiration." ABD went red and even confessed that "I'm getting cheesy on air!"
His first scoring runs came from a gentle push to the boundary as he placed the ball to the perfect inch beating both the fielders at point and at third man. But he had to maintain a cautious start as the KXIP bowlers managed to pick up timely wickets. RCB was struggling at 68-4 in the 14th over when Mandeep Singh was caught behind off Varun Aaron with de Villiers still batting at the other end. At this crucial juncture, he decided to change gears and go for the kill. He raced on to his fifty and the last 58 runs came off just 18 balls en route to his 89 with nine towering sixes and four boundaries.
Twitter went berserk after this innings as cricketers, as well as RCB fans, started congratulating ABD. It is just a matter of time before Captain Virat Kohli takes the field. With the gunpowder of VK and ABD, RCB will become a formidable challenger for the title.
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 "Cricket, IPL 10, IPL 2017, AB de Villiers, ABD, Danielle de Villiers, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Kings XI Punjab (KXIP),")
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