New Delhi: AB de Villiers is certainly one of the best players in the world cricket now. Having earned such a sobriquet as 'Superman of Cricket', the South African batsman has indeed carried a reputation of infallibility.
On Saturday, the 31-year-old once again showcased his class, standing tall amidst the pile as Indian spin duo of Ravinchandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja wrecked havoc in Bangalore's Chinnaswamy Stadium.
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Playing in his 100th Test match, the Proteas batsman was accorded a warm applause when he arrived in the centre to bat on the first day of second Test. South Africa were already down three wickets in the 16th over, and only 46 runs for all the trouble.
Then, in his Indian Premier League home ground, the South African played like a host, taking the fight to the Indians. AB's 85 runs were the highlight of South Africa's day, and had it not been for his less than accommodating partners, he could have played a majestic innings, like he most of the time does.
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With that 105-ball knock was the difference between a rout and a resistance, as South African innings relied on his broad shoulders to cross that 200-run mark.
In the process, he became the third South African player to accumulated 1,000 runs or more against India in Tests. His of 1029 in 15 matches is only behind Jacques Kallis' 1734 in 18 matches and Hashim Amla's 1257 in 16 matches.
In this Freedom series, he has score 741 runs at an average of 67.36 in eleven matches so far. And lot more depend on him if South Africa are to resurrect their Test fortunes in the series. Yes, he and unheralded fast bowler Kagiso Rabada were the architects to South Africa's series win in T20Is and ODIs.
