IPL 2021: AB de Villiers reveals what Maxwell said to him when he came out to bat against KKR

AB de Villiers got the man of the match award in the match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders in Chennai for his superb fifty on Sunday. After the match, the South African caught up with his RCB teammate, Yuzvendra Chahal for an interview, to talk about the game and his innings.

De Villiers came out to bat in the 12th over and stayed unbeaten, helping RCB to get to 204 for 4, on a surface where a score like that seemed quite unlikely. He scored 76 runs off just 34 balls and helped RCB score 56 runs in the last three overs to take their total to 204. Apart from him, it was an innings of 78 runs from Glenn Maxwell which laid the foundation early on.

During the interaction with Chahal, De Villiers explained how he planned his knock. The 37-year-old revealed that it was an over from Varun Chakravarthy when he decided to take on the attack, realizing the opposition was playing defensively. He also revealed how he counter-attacked Andre Russell’s plan of bowling wide yorkers.

We are similar players with a lot of energy: AB de Villiers on Glenn Maxwell

“I laid out a good foundation and then their leg-spinner (Varun Chakravarthy) came on, I sensed he was bowling defensively and I realised that was my moment. When Russell came on, he was stuck with wide deliveries, I opened up and it put him under pressure,” De Villiers told Chahal in a video posted on the official website of IPL.

🎤 Chahal chats up with 'Mr. 360' ABD 🎤@yuzi_chahal is back on mic duties as he interviews @ABdeVilliers17 on his 7⃣6⃣*-run blitz, his partnership with @Gmaxi_32 & more. 😎😎 – By @28anand#VIVOIPL #RCBvKKR @RCBTweets

Watch the full interview 🎥👇https://t.co/x871aJvcrC pic.twitter.com/Pfs1qyaU4O

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 19, 2021

Maxwell’s knock was crucial as far as the RCB team was concerned. After losing captain Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar in the second over, Bangalore recovered on the back of Maxwell’s knock. De Villiers recalled that when he came to the crease, Maxwell told him that he doesn’t want to run a lot as he was tired batting in the Chennai heat. The duo put on a partnership of 53 runs. Bangalore won the match eventually by 38 runs.

“When I came out to bat, I realised Maxwell was tired and he told me that he does not want to run much. To be honest, we enjoy playing together. We are similar players with a lot of energy and we love having an impact for the team,” he added.