Axar Patel explains plan behind AB de Villiers dismissal

Axar Patel celebrates after dismissing AB de Villiers

It’s not often that you see AB de Villiers fail with the bat these days, but the match against Kings XI Punjab was one of those rare occasions when the South African ODI captain was dismissed without making much of an impact. Credit for that should to Kings XI Punjab spinner Axar Patel who dismissed him for just 10.

Axar later said that he had specific plans in place to bowl to de Villiers, who is widely considered as the best batsman in the world at this moment. The left-arm spinner explained how he had deliberately slowed down the pace of his deliveries while bowling to the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batsman.

In an interview with the official IPL website, the 21-year-old said: "He plays all around the ground. So to plan for him is easy for a spinner; one shouldn’t bowl quick to him because he uses the pace of the ball. He goes on to play a lot of innovative shots. So my plan was I should bowl to him on his stumps. Today too I bowled at his stumps so I could get him out."

Kings XI Punjab won a rain-curtailed 10-over match by 22 runs, and in the process, registered just their third victory of the season. RCB, on the other hand, slipped to 5th place on the league table and need two wins from their last two games to be assured of a place in the playoffs.

The Bangalore-based franchise will face off against Sun Risers Hyderabad while the Kings XI, who are guaranteed to finish last, will play their final match against the Chennai Super Kings.