Former India opener as well as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Gautam Gambhir has praised Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for promoting AB de Villiers to the number four in the batting order. Notably, RCB did this in their last league match against the Delhi Capitals.
He said that it was a great chance for the veteran South Africa player to show his class as he got to spend some time in the middle before the all-important Eliminator in Sharjah against the KKR. AB de Villiers scored 26 runs in as many balls after coming out to bat on the 14th ball of their innings where RCB won the game on a last-ball thriller.
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Gautam Gambhir, while reviewing the match, said to ESPNcricinfo that it was crucial for AB de Villiers to spend some time in the middle. He said: “One good thing was the RCB promoted AB de Villiers to bat at 4. Most probably they wanted him to spend some time in the middle before the play-offs. Yes, he didn’t score enough runs for the side but at least he spent some time in the middle against a quality bowling line-up.”
He continued: “Maxwell continuing his great form at number 5 is a great sign for RCB. And if the openers start clicking and begin to give their side those starts, the RCB is going to be more dangerous.”
However, the Virat Kohli-led franchise has a settled batting lineup – Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, KS Bharat, AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell as well. Moreover, RCB has qualified for the playoffs for the second successive time. While talking about the RCB’s efforts, Gautam Gambhir stated that the win will give them a lot of confidence for the future. Notably, RCB will face KKR in the Eliminator on October 11 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium as well.
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“RCB would’ve got a lot of confidence, especially after beating Delhi, who are a very formidable side and they have a really strong bowling line-up. Chasing 160 odd on that kind of a wicket was one hell of an effort,” Gautam Gambhir concluded.
