Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
AB de Villiers was one of the match winners who graced the Indian Premier League with his presence. As the South Africa batter decided to hang his boots from all forms of the game and opted himself out of the current edition of India's T20 domestic tournament, RCB players are doing everything possible to fill in his shoes and not let his absence reflect on the team's result.
After winning the game against Delhi Capitals by 12 runs at iconic Wankhede, former skipper Virat Kohli dedicated his one-handed catch to his former teammate and dear friend. Notably, Virat Kohli delivered yet another brilliance while fielding in the second innings as he plucked the ball inside a 30-yard circle in the cover region to dismiss Delhi skipper Rishabh Pant.
Kohli's spectacular catch stunned Pant as he fell for 34 from 17 balls in the 17th over DC's unsuccessful chase of 190 against RCB. After plucking the ball that was flying towards the boundary, Kohli walked towards the crowd and waved at his wife and Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma, who was spotted cheering RCB from the Wankhede Stadium.
While heading towards the dressing room, Kohli and Dinesh Karthik, who played yet another match-winning knock in the first innings, said, "Two or three people are trying to do what AB used to do for us all alone. My catch and Karthik's knock are dedicated to AB." Kohli further informed that RCB players are collectively trying to fill AB's shoes. De Villiers was a vital cog in the RCB squad as he scored 313 runs in 15 matches last season with two fifties and a strike rate of 148.34.
Overall in his IPL career, De Villiers scored 5,162 runs from 184 games at an average of 39.7 and with a strike rate of 151.68 with three hundred and 40 fifties. Speaking of Royal Challengers Bangalore, the franchise has won four out of six games played in the tournament and is currently placed at third position in the points table.
RCB will next lock horn with Lucknow Super Giants on April 19 at DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai.