AB de Villiers Reveals How He Accidentally Hit Mohammed Shami For One Of The Most Iconic Sixes In IPL

Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers has revealed how he managed to hit a spectacular one-handed six off Mohammed Shami‘s bowling during the 2019 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

It happened when Punjab Kings (formerly Kings XI Punjab) visited the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium for the clash against the home side Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). The Bengaluru-based outfit went on to post a big total of 202/4 with AB de Villiers playing a key role with the bat.

The batting great smashed an unbeaten 82 off just 44 balls with the help of 3 fours and as many as 7 sixes. Apart from AB de Villiers, no other RCB batsmen managed to reach the 50-run mark. Punjab Kings replied strongly with the bat but eventually fell short by 17 runs after finishing on 185 for 7.

But more than the result of the game and the knock from AB de Villiers, it was his six off Mohammed Shami that became the talk of the town. It was the 19th over of the innings and Shami had his task cut out against a well-set AB de Villiers. The India pacer began well by not letting the batsmen score any runs off the bat on the first two balls.

AB de Villiers recalls his famous six against Mohammed Shami:

Shami, however, had no idea about what was to come as AB de Villiers smashed him for three sixes in a row. And the best of the lot was the third six that landed on the roof of the stadium. What made the shot even more incredible was that AB de Villiers played it with only one hand. Shami bowled a full toss which was above the batsman’s waist and he did well to hit it over long leg for a maximum.

The former RCB batsman had taken his eyes off the ball but still managed to hit it for a huge six. And more than four years after that famous six, AB de Villiers has revealed that the six was a result of him trying to save himself from getting hit by the beamer.

“I very clearly remember that cleared the stadium and went into Cubbon Park. It’s crazy because it was one of the biggest sixes I have hit in my life. It was actually just a reaction. I literally tried to stop the ball from not hitting me.

It was heading into a dangerous area around the throat. That could have been very painful if I had missed that. My mind just told me, whatever you do, make sure the ball hits the bat and not your body,” AB de Villiers said while speaking in a video for his YouTube channel.