AB de Villiers produced another sensational innings to inspire the Royal Challengers Bangalore to a thrilling one-run victory over the Delhi Capitals in the IPL on Tuesday.
Both De Villiers and Proteas coach Mark Boucher have said the door is open to discussions around the big-hitting batsman returning to the international fold for the T20 World Cup, but that was always going to be dependent on how he performed in this season’s IPL.
Well, we are some 22 matches in, and it’s already clear that De Villiers is still at the peak of his powers in the shortest format of the game, even at the age of 37.
In Tuesday’s stunning knock De Villiers finished not out on 75, off just 42 balls, in an innings which included five sixes.
It was a batting masterclass that also took him to 5,000 runs in the IPL, becoming just the second overseas player to reach that milestone after David Warner.
He almost single-handedly carried RCB to a total of 171-5, and the Delhi Capitals looked to be out of the running for victory when they slipped to 92-4 in the 13th over.
However, two superb half-centuries from Rishabh Pant and Shimron Hetmyer brought the Capitals right back into the game.
Ultimately, though, it just wasn’t enough.
