AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli have openly formed a mutual admiration society with each calling the other the “best batsman of the generation”.
Kohli said it again yesterday in Pune after Royal Challengers Bangalore beat the hosts Rising Supergiants by 13 runs.
The big partnerships between the Bangalore teammates has been instrumental in their wins in the ninth season.
De Villiers was adjudged man of the match for his knock of 83 while Kohli made 80.
But they may be carrying that a bit too far, though, as both have also shown a propensity to depart in quick succession.
Thankfully, it did not hurt much as Bangalore also bucked the trend of teams chasing ending up on the winning side yesterday when Pune failed to surpass Bangalore’s 185 for three.
There were some nervous moments, though, as Thisara Perera 13-ball knock of 33 runs made it a little too close for comfort for Bangalore.
The 17th over of the innings by Hardik Patel went for 25 runs, leaving both Kohli and De Villiers “happy to cross the line” in the post-match presentation.
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Earlier, the fall of Lokesh Rahul brought the fearsome power of Kohli and De Villiers.
By the time the partnership of 155 ended with Kohli’s departure, Bangalore had a cushion of 182 runs on the board.
However, the gap between De Villiers’s exit in the footsteps of Kohli has narrowed with each game. It was nine balls in the first game, four balls in the third and one delivery yesterday against Pune.
The second game, against Delhi Daredevils, was an exception when De Villiers (53) was out while Kohli went on to make 79, but Bangalore lost.
It can be argued that it was the final over and De Villiers had to go for the big shots, one which led to his dismissal the next ball.
"The way he [De Villiers] communicates, he is a selfless person," Kohli told StarSports. "He doesn't care about his own plans. It is a pleasure batting alongside him."
Pune had to contend with a suspected calf injury for Kevin Pietersen and a disappointed captain MS Dhoni said: “KP’s injury can be a blessing in disguise. We are playing with six bowlers, yet our death bowling isn’t great.”
* With agency
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