Former India opener and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Gautam Gambhir has applauded Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for promoting their key batsman AB de Villiers to the number four in their last league match against the Delhi Capitals.
He said that it was a great move for the veteran as he got to spend some time in the crease before the all-important Eliminator in Sharjah against the KKR. AB de Villiers hit 26 runs in as many balls where RCB won the game on a last-ball thriller.
RCB v DC: Dressing Room Chat
A last ball thriller courtesy KS Bharath, and a happy dressing room. The team was all smiles after last night’s win against table toppers DC.#PlayBold #WeAreChallengers #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/NhblCIHWmy
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) October 9, 2021
Gautam Gambhir, while reviewing the match on ESPNcricinfo 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.”
“It was one hell of an effort” – Gautam Gambhir
However, the RCB has a settled batting lineup with Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, KS Bharat, AB de Villiers and Glenn Maxwell as well. On the other hand, RCB has qualified for the playoffs for the second successive time. While talking about this, Gautam Gambhir said that the win will give them a lot of confidence.
“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.
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