• AB de Villiers: I have played better

    After smashing an unbeaten 133 for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL on Sunday, AB de Villiers revealed the reasons behind his sustained success.

    Cricket writers and fans alike are running out of ways to describe the genius of AB de Villiers.

    The Proteas ODI captain helped RCB to a 39-run victory against the Mumbai Indians, hitting 133 from 59 balls to record his second IPL hundred.

    De Villiers, 31, is in the form of his life and has consistently proven that he is the most devastating batsmen in world cricket at the moment.

    His natural talent is seemingly unrivalled and he is fast becoming the most ‘hated’ batsmen in the world.

    In rating his own knock, De Villiers said it wasn’t the best he has played.

    ‘I certainly have played better innings and this is the same as any other innings,’ said De Villiers.

    ‘I won’t say this is the best I have played, I have played much better before but things went my way today. I tried to stick to my game plan as much as possible. I tried to keep it simple and that is what I did right throughout my innings,’ explained De Villiers.

    Speaking to iplt20.com after RCB’s win over MI, De Villiers tried to explain why he is able to regularly play innings that mesmerise crowds and dismay even the best bowlers around.

    ‘It has probably got to do a lot with experience,’ he says. ‘I have played the game for a long time now and most batsmen will tell you that it comes with experience. I am a professional cricketer and played a whole lot of years now. Yes, maybe back in the day all the other sports other than cricket that I played helped me to put some of those skills in my cricket.

    ‘But I have played the game for 11 years now at international level. I know my game pretty well and that is the secret to success in most sports. I feel the same every single time I play. I just try and earn my right to get on top of the bowlers and that is how I play every game.’

    De Villiers also talked about his experience batting with Virat Kohli.

    ‘He is a little more intense than me at the wicket. I try and keep it really simple. We don’t say too much but we just talked about keeping the intensity up throughout the innings and try to maximise our innings as much as possible.’

    De Villiers’ innings received high praise on Twitter, where Australian David Warner reiterated his belief that AB was the ‘best batter in world cricket’.

    ‘That is a fantastic compliment from a great player himself,’ said De Villiers in reaction to Warner’s tweet.

    ‘I am at the top of my game at the moment but I know this game knocks you down very quickly. I try and keep my feet on the ground and keep working at my game. I know you are only as good as your last game. I am already thinking of my next performance and I have moved on from what happened [on Sunday].

    VIDEO: Watch the highlights of AB de Villiers’ innings here.