CHENNAI: After playing a match-winning knock of 48 runs of 27 balls, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batsman AB de Villiers said that it was an absolute pleasure for him to bat alongside big-hitting Glenn Maxwell.
The Proteas batsman scored 48 runs with the help of four 4s and two 6s to help RCB defeat Mumbai Indians by two wickets in the tournament opener on Friday here at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
“It was an incredible game of cricket. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, we knew it wasn’t an easy pitch to play on and it’s one of those wickets that gets harder as the game goes on and we knew if we could take it to the end we could take a chance. It was a good throw (when asked about his run-out) and Krunal was spot-on. Absolute pleasure playing alongside Maxwell. I love playing with players like that and he just wants to win cricket games,” de Villiers told host broadcaster Star Sports after the match.
“And also there’s Dan Christian. It’s a nice combination to have. There’s a reason why they’ve won the trophy five times but that was the challenge for us tonight. We did well and we won the first game against them last year as well,” he added.
AB de Villiers came out to bat in the 13th over. RCB was chasing 160 for a win. Virat Kohli was already back in the hut and de Villiers also saw Glenn Maxwell and Shahbaz Ahmed depart in quick succession. However, de Villiers ensured that RCB kept up with the required run-rate.
The Proteas batsman got out in the final over of the innings, but RCB managed to register a win.
Harshal Patel delivered a stunning bowling performance before AB de Villiers’ masterclass helped RCB defeat Mumbai Indians by two wickets. Harshal picked up five wickets (three in the final over) to restrict Mumbai Indians to 159 runs in the allotted 20 overs and as a result, he became the first bowler a take a fifer against Mumbai Indians in the IPL.
In response, RCB got over the line on the last ball, courtesy of some fine hitting by de Villiers in the death overs. For RCB, Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers played knocks of 39 and 48 respectively. Skipper Virat Kohli also played a 33-run knock of 29 balls. (ANI)
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