AB de Villiers Was The Best In The Business In The Final Five Overs In The IPL - Brad Hogg
Updated - 21 Nov 2021, 04:36 PM
Former Australia spinner Brad Hogg has lavished rich praises on AB de Villiers following the latter’s retirement from all forms of the game.
De Villiers retired from international cricket in 2018 and had been plying his trade in T20 leagues around the world before he announced his retirement from all cricket, including the IPL, on Friday.
Wishes have poured down since for the legend who amassed 5162 runs in the IPL at an average of 39.71, with a strike rate of 151.69, including notching up 3 hundreds, in the biggest T20 league in the world.
Brad Hogg believes that the South African was the best in the IPL during the death overs phase – he smashed runs at a strike rate of 223 in the last five overs – and had carried RCB’s batting line-up along with Virat Kohli.
“What a player. He was brilliant for South Africa across formats, but in the IPL he was sensational. He and Virat Kohli carried that RCB batting line-up. He was the best in the business in the final five overs in the IPL.
“He had a strike rate of 223 in that period. The range of shots that he had – the ramps, the drives down the ground, the pull shot, the cuts and reverse sweep. He had everything,” Brad Hogg said in his YouTube video.
His ability to hit the gaps while going for the sixes separated him from the rest: Brad Hogg
For Brad Hogg, it was de Villiers’ incredible ability to hit sixes over the gaps in the field which made him apart from the rest of the batters.
“When he wanted to go over the top for those sixes, he wasn’t just trying to hit over that outfield, he was trying to hit the gaps as well. If he mistimed it, he still gave himself a chance of getting a four.
“His ability to hit the gaps while going for the sixes separated him from the rest. The other batters were not so articulate when it came to playing those big strokes,” the 50-year-old explained.
Overall, AB de Villiers retired with a total of 9424 T20 runs, which he scored in 320 innings at a strike rate of 150 while playing for a number of teams around the world.
