Credit: @AbdeFansTrends
On this day in 2015, Virat Kohli played the supporting act as AB de Villiers turned the Wankhede into his personal playground!
The floodlights at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai have illuminated countless IPL battles, but few have witnessed such a one-sided masterclass as the encounter between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Mumbai Indians (MI) on May 10th, 2015.
This was the night AB de Villiers decided to rewrite the script, transforming the Mumbai pitch into his personal playground and leaving the usually vociferous home crowd chanting his name in a stunning display of respect.
From the get-go, the match took an ominous turn for Mumbai. A straightforward chance off Kohli's blade in the third over went begging as Mitchell McClenaghan grassed a sitter at slip. This elementary error proved to be a pivotal moment, allowing Kohli (82 off 50 balls) to settle in and provide invaluable support later in the innings. However, the night belonged to AB de Villiers, who was about to unleash an innings for the ages.
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It was a memorable stand for RCB
Mumbai's bowlers, perhaps lulled by the dropped catch, offered a bowling banquet that left de Villiers licking his lips. A steady stream of full tosses and overpitched deliveries found their way to the boundary with alarming ease. Even the usually reliable Lasith Malinga couldn't escape the onslaught; his final over haemorrhaged a staggering 14 runs.
De Villiers started cautiously, milking the bowling for singles before exploding into a whirlwind of power-hitting. Square cuts that bisected fielders, cover drives that pinged off the turf like rockets, and audacious scoops that defied gravity He reached fifty off a mere 29 balls, a testament to his clean hitting and the generosity of the Mumbai attack.
While de Villiers was the aggressor, Kohli played the role of the consummate partner. He rotated the strike efficiently, allowing de Villiers to take centre stage. However, once Kohli reached his own fifty (off 39 balls), he decided to join the party. Jasprit Bumrah, Mumbai's pace spearhead, wasn't spared either. The 17th over bowled by Bumrah was taken to the cleaners, with the RCB duo plundering a combined 25 runs, effectively putting the match to bed.
The carnage continued unabated as both de Villiers and Kohli feasted on anything resembling a bowling error. Their partnership blossomed into a record-breaking 215 runs, the highest for any wicket in IPL history at that time. De Villiers finished with an unbeaten 133 off just 59 balls, an innings laced with 19 boundaries and four sixes. His strike rate of a mind-boggling 225.42 left the Mumbai bowlers thoroughly demoralised.
Chasing a mammoth 236-run target, Mumbai needed a miracle. While Kieron Pollard and Lendl Simmons provided a glimmer of hope with a quickfire 70-run stand, it was simply not enough. Simmons remained unbeaten on a valiant 68 runs, but with the required run rate climbing steadily, Mumbai eventually fell short by 39 runs.
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This duo ends MI’s hope
Royal Challengers Bangalore: 235/1 (De Villiers 133*, Kohli 82*)
Mumbai Indians: 196/7 (Simmons 68*, Pollard 49)
Highest individual score by a batsman in the 2015 IPL: AB de Villiers (133*)
The highest partnership for any wicket in the 2015 IPL was Kohli-de-Villiers (215).
Most boundaries in an innings by a batsman in the 2015 IPL: AB de Villiers (19)
Highest strike rate in an innings of 50+ runs in the 2015 IPL: AB de Villiers (225.42).
