ABD recalls the “message” from Kohli that helped RCB enter the final
Capping an incredible comeback season for RCB, AB de Villiers had enacted a miraculous escape against Gujarat after the side was down by 6 wickets. The Proteas star recounted the critical point in the match when he took the gamble of going after Dwayne Smith, after Kohli's message from the dugout.
In an exclusive column in the Hindustan Times, ABD wrote, “At some stage, we needed to take risks and have one big over and, with the threat of rain, Virat Kohli made a great call when he sent a message, saying we should go after the 15th over bowled by Dwayne Smith. The gamble came off and the 14 runs in that over swung the game in our favour.”
Giving a glimpse into the emotions that even superstars go through before big occasions, ABD recalled, “It was a massive occasion for Royal Challengers Bangalore and, late in the afternoon, before we left for the stadium, I remember telling my wife Danielle that I felt nervous about the match. I didn’t have a good feeling.”
Talking about the match, he wrote, “When we were 29 for five, the nightmare was happening.
“All I could think was ‘we need to get a partnership going’, and, somehow, taking it ball by ball, run by run, without thinking too far ahead, it started to happen with Stuart Binny, before he was out.”
The great also had praises for Iqbal Abdulla, who appeared to be uncowed, despite the immense pressure that was building up. “Then, I found the perfect partner in Iqbal Abdulla. He was calm when he came to the crease, and gave me confidence, letting me have the strike when necessary and relieving pressure by hitting boundaries at exactly the right time,” he wrote.
Praising the crowd as well, de Villiers wrote, “The Chinnaswamy crowd made more noise than I have ever heard at a cricket ground, and it felt as if the stadium was roaring when Abdulla hit those three boundaries to clinch the comeback victory in the 19th over. It was a great team effort and a fantastic feeling for the entire RCB organisation --- officials, sponsors, coaches and players --- to have booked a place in the final. Now, we need to win it,” in the column in HT.
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