IPL 2021: “Incredible game of cricket” – AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli reflect on thrilling opening game
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AB de Villiers
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) got off to a winning start in the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as they defeated Mumbai Indians (MI) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The win was fashioned by a stupendous performance with the ball from Harshal Patel who was acquired in the trade window this year as he picked up five wickets while keeping it tight.
In the chase, RCB’s marquee players stepped up as Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers got runs and played crucial hands in the victory. It was the latter’s hitting at the death especially which helped them overhaul the target off the last ball in a nail-biting finish.
AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli speak on RCB’s win
AB de Villiers spoke post-match about the win and said, “Was an incredible game of cricket. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, we knew it wasn’t an easy pitch to play on and it’s one of those wickets that gets harder as the game goes on and we knew if we could take it to the end we could take a chance.”
Speaking about the RCB line up, he said, “Absolute pleasure playing alongside him (Maxwell). I love playing with players like that and he just wants to win cricket games. And also there’s Dan Christian. It’s a nice combination to have. There’s a reason why they’ve won the trophy five times but that was the challenge for us tonight. We did well and we won the first game against them last year as well.”
Virat Kohli meanwhile, was all praise for his players. Speaking of Glenn Maxwell first, he said, “We wanted Maxi to bat at four. The thinking was that we wanted to give Maxi some balls at the start and not get him slogging rightaway. You saw the result today of him playing 10-15 balls. His innings was the game-changer. Had he stayed in we would’ve finished a couple of overs earlier.”
Speaking of Harshal, Kohli said, “We brought Harshal in a trade from Delhi. He is relishing the responsibility and is clear with his plans. He was the difference today. He is going to be our death bowler. As a captain you want players with clarity, and he has that.“
The IPL continues tomorrow with Chennai Super Kings taking on Delhi Capitals in Mumbai.
Also Read: IPL 2021: WATCH – Virat Kohli’s stunned reaction as Glenn Maxwell hits a huge six
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Nevin Clinton
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