IPL 2018 | We lost the game to AB, not RCB, says Gautam Gambhir

04/23/2018

Delhi Daredevils skipper, Gautam Gambhir has insisted that AB de Villiers was single handedly responsible for securing the win for Royal Challengers Bangalore against his side. He hoped that their home ground, Firoz Shah Kotla, would help them in getting back to winning ways against KXIP.

Sitting right at the bottom of the table, Delhi Daredevils didn’t really get off to a start they would have hoped for with just one win in five games. In their latest defeat, DD skipper, Gautam Gambhir felt that they lost the game to the ‘genius’ of AB de Villiers and not to RCB. AB de Villiers didn’t give the DD attack any chance of revival in his whirlwind knock of an unbeaten 90 off 39 balls. Gambhir admitted that it is near impossible to stop the South African once he gets his eyes set on the wicket.

In his column for TOI, Gautam Gambhir regarded De Villiers and Chris Gayle, who has scored three consecutive fifties, as ‘geniuses’ who when on song can rip any bowling lineup apart.

“On current form Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers can even help us decoding GST and its implications. Or, convince the North Korean president from removing that button from that desk. Such was their genius on Saturday that it seemed they were the ones setting fields, then telling bowlers what and where to bowl and finally hit the ball as if ordering a drink. In DD’s case my inference was that on Saturday we lost the game to De Villiers and not RCB,” Gambhir wrote.

The former Indian opener felt that there was a method to AB’s hitting, who didn’t just slog, but took calculated risks against his bowlers, which paid off.

“From the outside it may seem mad hitting, but if you look closely, you can spot a method too. When he first came in De Villiers attacked Shahbaz Nadeem with slog-sweeps. To fast bowlers, he’d jump outside the off stump, form a strong base and hit it anywhere between extra-cover to fine leg. All this with a head so still that you can place a cup of tea on it and go to a toilet. Such was the De Villiers magic that he paled off outstanding knocks by Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer,” said the 36-year-old.

Maintaining a positive approach, Gambhir was hopeful that their home ground, where they play on Monday against KXIP, would be helpful to them in their comeback.

“Personally and also as a team we are struggling. But I am optimistic. There is talent in our dressing room. I was glad to see Chris Morris turning up the heat, the snarl was back. (Glenn) Maxwell is due for a big one, Shreyas is a big tick for us. We are in Delhi now and hopefully the familiar environs will work,”wrote Gambhir.

Delhi skipper showered huge praises on Rishabh Pant, who played a handsome knock of 85 against RCB, and termed him as ‘special talent’. He believed that Pant and Sanju Samson are the first shining stars of this new IPL generation.

“Rishabh is a special talent. He not only has the ability to hit good balls but is a marketer’s delight too. The six that he hit in the 18th over off Mohammed Siraj’s slower ball on a sluggish wicket can help the IPL broadcaster justify their exorbitant rights fees! He and Sanju Samson seem to me the first super stars of India’s IPL generation. But like any expensive porcelain come with handle-with-extreme care tag,” he said.

IPL 2018 | We lost the game to AB, not RCB, says Gautam Gambhir

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