Kohli: 'AB can do freakish things'

AB De Villiers, however, sought to play down his clearly remarkable effort of leaping up high before sticking out his right hand at just the right time to grab the ball.

Published : May 18, 2018 14:25 IST , Bengaluru

 Royal Challengers Bangalore’s AB De Villiers takes a catch to dismiss Alex Hales of Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Royal Challengers Bangalore’s AB De Villiers takes a catch to dismiss Alex Hales of Sunrisers Hyderabad.
lightbox-info

Royal Challengers Bangalore’s AB De Villiers takes a catch to dismiss Alex Hales of Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Even by his own exalted standards, A.B. de Villiers' catch on the boundary to dismiss Alex Hales was something special.

"That was Spiderman stuff," Virat Kohli said, after RCB's 14-run win over SRH here on Thursday.

"You don't do that as normal human beings. I thought it was going for a six. Then he pulls it out and then the jumps and then the balances. He can do freakish things. I'm used to it now. His shots still leave me in awe but his fielding I'm pretty used to. That was fun to watch."

De Villiers was modest in his assessment of his effort. "I made it look better than it actually was," he said.

"I got into a bad position. The ball had a bit of a curve on it. The minute I took that jump I realized it was a little bit outside of my body. So I just had to put the right arm out and it stuck."

Moeen Ali, the bowler on the occasion, was full of praise for de Villiers. "Obviously, it's an unbelievable catch. One of the best I've ever seen. When he hit it, I thought 'six' but then with AB you've always got a chance. What a grab. He's an amazing fielder. Everybody knows that and only he can do that," he said.

Read: Catch masters - Boult then, AB and Rashid now

Kohli has endured a tough season as captain of RCB but a recent spate of good results has put the team back in the hunt for a knockout berth.

 

“Now we head to Rajasthan Royals with momentum on our side, the team’s feeling great. We’re happy with the XI now, it’s settled. Teams don’t want us to win, looking at the strength, they want us to not win. We sense fear and we pounce,” he said.

De Villiers said he continues to be amazed by his popularity in the country, where chants of his name resonate every time he comes out to bat.

“It’s an amazing feeling when they chant my name. I look to put pressure on the bowlers. I’m human after all. If I get one or two away, I have momentum going my way. It’d be great to make the knockouts,” he said.

“Lot’s got to happen. We have to win the next game, then it comes down to run rates.”

(With inputs from PTI )

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment