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Former Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batter AB de Villiers cheekily praised Virat Kohli for his outstanding knock against the Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday, April 2. The former Proteas captain took to Instagram to post an old picture of Kohli batting in practice, with him fielding at short leg.
Kohli started his IPL 2023 season with a bang, hitting an unbeaten 82 off 49 balls to help RCB thrash MI by eight wickets. The right-handed batter looked secure at the crease from the get-go and never gave the Mumbai Indians bowlers any chance.
The former Indian skipper hammered six fours and five sixes, even dispatching elite bowlers like Jofra Archer and Jason Behrendorff over the rope.
Keeping in mind the flawlessness of Kohli's innings, De Villiers wrote:
"When you’re standing at short leg but know you’re not in the game, cause this guy wasn’t gonna edge any of them last night! well played RCB."
RCB's eight-wicket win came on the back of an exceptional bowling performance that saw the hosts claim four MU wickets within 10 overs.
Tilak Verma's unbeaten 84 off 46 deliveries helped Mumbai post a respectable total of 171. However, it didn't prove to be a match-winning score. RCB skipper Faf du Plessis, who struck 73 off 43 balls during his 148-run opening stand with Kohli, earned the Player of the Match award.
AB de Villiers was recently inducted into RCB's Hall of Fame
Meanwhile, RCB recently inducted De Villiers into their Hall of Fame. The former right-handed batter was roped in by the franchise for ₹5 crore at the auction ahead of the 2011 season.
He forged several memorable partnerships with Kohli and Chris Gayle, who was the other Hall of Fame inductee.
De Villiers retired from all forms of cricket after IPL 2021 and went down as one of the most prolific overseas batters in the tournament's history.
The 39-year-old smashed 5162 runs in 184 matches at an average of 39.70, with three centuries and 40 fifties to his name. The South African batter's 229-run partnership with Kohli in 2016 remains the highest in IPL history.
