IPL 2018: AB de Villiers Terms Alex Hales' Catch as 'Most Satisfying'

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) cricketer AB de Villiers justified his ‘Superman’ tag as he defied gravity to pull off a one-handed stunner – to dismiss Sunrisers Hyderabad’s (SRH) batsman Ales Hales at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday.

Chasing a massive target of 219 runs, Hales launched spinner Moeen Ali into the night sky in the eighth over. It almost looked like a six when de Villiers instinctively stretched out his right hand to pluck the ball swirling away from him.

Decoding his effort, de Villiers admitted that he just wanted to create a chance out of that ball. He had to run fast to reach it as it was quite a few meters away from him.

De Villiers also mentioned that he wanted to keep the basics right of keeping an eye on the ball fixed.

Further, he went on to add that the situation demanded something extraordinary. So, the Proteas cricketer jumped and somehow it stuck to his outstretched hands.

The most satisfying catch: de Villiers

Mr 360 Degree of cricket de Villiers revealed that it was the most satisfying catch of his cricketing career.

Moreover, it left the cricketing world in awe and nobody can’t stop talking about it.

Skipper Virat Kohli termed it a “Spiderman-like” effort after the game.

“Something else was needed. A jump was needed, so I slowed down a little, creating space to use my arms to propel myself as far into the air as possible… so I jumped, and reached up and backwards and, somehow, the ball stuck in my outstretched right hand. The job was half done. As I came down, the ball slipped from my fingers and I only just managed to push it towards my stomach… and then to hold what must rate as one of the most satisfying catches of my career,” de Villiers wrote in TOI.

Previously, AB de Villiers struck 69 off 39 balls to guide RCB post a massive total. He partnered Moeen Ali (65 off 34) to take the target beyond a chaseable total.

Meanwhile, RCB needs to win their last game to push their case for the playoffs. They take on Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium as both the teams will fight for the crucial two points.

Also read: KKR ready for must-win game against Hyderabad – Jacques Kallis