The 14th edition of the Indian Premier League started off with a bang as Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Mumbai Indians in a nail-biting tournament curtain-raiser by 2 wickets and in the final delivery of the match. Riding on a scintillating knock from the blade of Mr 360, AB de Villiers, RCB huffed and puffed to the victory target of 160. Hailing his special knock, former cricketing stalwarts Matthew Hayden and Brian Lara showered praises on the modern great in the post-match show on Star Sports.
AB de Villiers was seen in action for the first time after the completion of IPL 2020 and the demeanour in which he played never made people believe that he had been out of cricketing action for a long. Lauding ABD’s knock, Lara said that the “Timeless ABD” delivered when his team needed him the most.
“He is timeless. He has got the experience. IPL is the only form of cricket he is playing at the moment. I suppose he is keeping fit and ready for it. At this stage, when they lost Virat Kohli, RCB needed him to come good. He was explosive at the right time; he controlled the game. He came in after Glenn Maxwell as well; he controlled the game and got them home,” said Lara.
The innings from ABD was not all about brute force. He rotated the strike to perfection and never looked in any discomfort what so ever on a pitch that was not conducive for batting. The spinners were getting some turn from the surface and the slower deliveries from the fast bowlers were stopping on the pitch. Former Aussie opener and a legend of the game, Matthew Hayden marked out the standout point of ABD’s knock which was strike rotation.
“Absolutely remarkable performance from ABD. No question. He had that presence of mind, just knowing when to go and when to hold back. But that most important thing is that rotation of strike that we saw and clean striking of the ball," said Hayden.
Meanwhile, he also gave his opinion on where the defending champions came short in the opening encounter of IPL 14.
“The mark of a great player is how they take on other great players. Jasprit Bumrah is one of the best death bowlers; he has been for quite some time in this tournament. But ABD went straight after him, straight on the front foot and those 12 runs in the 19th over is where Mumbai Indians came short,” Hayden further added.