He can take the match away from you in a matter of a few deliveries. This wizard with a magic wand can deliver brutal blows yet makes it seem delicate and attractive over the 360 degrees that is his range.
The genius of AB de Villiers — both explosive and delicate under pressure — was in full view as Royal Challengers Bangalore snatched a last ball thriller against Mumbai Indians in the IPL lung-opener.
And the RCB line-up has so many match-winners such as skipper Virat Kohli and Glenn Maxwell.
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But then, in the game against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on Wednesday, RCB will need to work on its bowling.
Someone like Washington Sundar, so successful with the ball in Twenty20 cricket, needs to bowl his full quota of overs. Against MI he sent down just one over and made an impact by dismissing a rampant Chris Lynn.
RCB has bowling depth, and seamer Harshal Patel bowled with clever variations against MI to scalp five. When your domestic uncapped players do well, it augurs well for your team. .
SRH has a problem. It cannot afford to bench someone with the temperament and stroke-making ability of Kane Williamson.
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Without him, the team appears a lesser outfit. It’s not just about his high-quality batting. Given his cricketing nous, his inputs to David Warner will be invaluable.
SRH can bench Mohammed Nabi and ask Vijay Shankar and Abdul Samad to share four overs between them.
This will be a game where there will be mini-battles. Bhuvneshwar Kumar versus the influential de Villiers will be intriguing. And Rashid Khan vs Kohli and Maxwell are mount watering match-ups. Curbing the heavy-hitting Warner will be a challenge for RCB.
The surface might be sluggish but this will be a high octane clash.
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