Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) icon AB de Villiers strongly criticized the commentators for their negative remarks about his former team during their IPL 2025 match against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Tuesday, May 27.
De Villiers took issue with the commentary that targeted RCB’s bowlers during LSG’s innings, pointing out that the critics ignored the nature of the pitch. In that match, LSG, powered by a sensational unbeaten 118 off 61 balls from captain Rishabh Pant, set a formidable total of 227/3 in their 20 overs.
Despite the challenge, RCB staged a remarkable comeback, chasing down the target in just 18.4 overs with six wickets in hand—marking their highest successful run chase in the franchise’s history. Sharing his thoughts on the match via his YouTube channel (as reported by India Today), De Villiers said:
“I listened to the commentators last night, and honestly, it got me so angry. They went on about how RCB’s bowling unit was once again in poor form. As I watched the match, I thought: sometimes commentators get fixated on a narrative. Yes, RCB have never won a title, but it’s lazy to keep saying, ‘Here we go again. The bowlers are failing, they’re useless,’ without properly analysing what’s happening on the field.”
He further continued:
“They were so negative when we were bowling. They kept saying, ‘RCB’s bowling is under pressure. They don’t look like they’re going to manage it. Once again, an in-form team is starting to lose momentum.’ But what about this-maybe it was just a really good batting wicket, guys? To all you very clever and sharp commentators out there, how about considering the possibility that it was an excellent surface for batting?”
“Rishabh Pant won’t hit 118 on a tough pitch”– AB de Villiers
AB de Villiers kept up his criticism of the commentators, using Rishabh Pant’s century to highlight that the pitch was clearly favourable for batting. Despite managing just one half-century before the match against RCB, the LSG captain appeared in top form right from the start.
“Rishabh Pant is not going to score 118 off 60-odd balls on a tricky, very difficult pitch. All the LSG batters were fluent out there. Yes, there was some poor bowling at times.”
“But ultimately, one must look at the bigger picture-227 runs on a wicket that typically doesn’t support such batting suggests it was simply a very good surface. RCB were still in the contest; they weren’t blown away, and they proved that,” said De Villiers (via aforementioned source).
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