Royal Challengers Bangalore’s key player AB de Villiers is one of the most popular cricketers in India.
The South African even expressed his love for India and the crowd in several media interviews. He even termed India as his second home.
On May 17, ABD again showed his love for Indian fans as he broke the security cover to hand over his man-of-the-match-award to one of his fans after the Indian Premier League 2018 match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
RCB, however, won the must-win game against SRH to keep the playoffs hope alive.
Asked to bat first, RCB set a mammoth total of 218 for SRH, thanks to ABD and Moeen Ali’s breezy half centuries.
De Villiers (69 from 39 balls; 4×12, 6×1) and Moeen (65 from 34; 4×2, 6×6) put on a 107-run third wicket stand to resurrect RCB’s innings which fell apart after the early loss of the opening duo of Parthiv Patel (1) and skipper Virat Kohli (12).
In reply, SRH started off well as both their openers, Shikhar Dhawan and Alex Hales, were scoring at much ease before Hales lost his wicket owing to a superb catch in the deep by RCB’s ABD.
ABD left the crowd stunned after he plucked the one-handed blinder at deep midwicket to pack back Hales off a Moeen Ali delivery.
Impressed with ABD’s athleticism, RCB’s skipper Virat Kohli compared him with Superman and tweeted: “Saw SpiderMan live today”.
Saw #SpiderMan Live today! _@abdevilliers17#RCBvsSRH #IPL2018 pic.twitter.com/mUuGVKuTn4
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) May 17, 2018
Meanwhile, the Hyderabad captain Kane Williamson slammed half-century off 28 balls, helping his side inch closer to the target.
With 19 needed off the final over, Mohammed Siraj jolted Hyderabad dismissing the visiting skipper to bring back Bangalore in the game.
With the win, RCB moved up to the fifth spot with 12 points.
ABD was adjudged man of the match for his 69-run from 39 balls and also for his superb one-handed catch at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
After winning the award, ABD was later seen breaking the security cover to meet his fans where he handed over his match accolade to a fan.
ABD’s unique gesture was captured on cam, which RCB shared it on their official twitter handle.
They captioned it as: “Athletic, talented, charming. Add benevolent to the list to describe @ABdeVilliers17 Truly Superhuman.”
Athletic, talented, charming. Add benevolent to the list to describe @ABdeVilliers17 _ Truly Superhuman _#PlayBold #RCBvSRH #RCB pic.twitter.com/LblMlypLLR
— Royal Challengers (@RCBTweets) May 17, 2018
RCB will next face Rajasthan Royals on 19th May at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur. This is a must-win game for both the teams.
