IPL 2018: Anything Can Happen if we Make it to the Knockouts - AB de Villiers

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) star batsman, AB de Villiers has urged other teams not to root them out of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) after their emphatic win over Delhi Daredevils (DD) on Saturday.

Meanwhile, RCB kept their hopes alive beating Delhi by five wickets – to claim two crucial points under their belt.

Bangalore looked determined, as their big guns performed when the team needed the most. Virat Kohli (70) and AB de Villiers (72*) stitched a 118-run partnership for the third-wicket – to take their side closer to the victory. Moreover, some useful contribution, in the end, ensured Bangalore to keep their hopes alive.

Previously, Delhi once again banked on Rishabh Pant’s blistering knock to post 181 runs on the board. Debutant Abhishek Sharma (46*) hammered the bowlers to help Delhi post a challenging total.

As a result, RCB has now four wins from 11 games and will have to win their remaining matches to give themselves a chance of qualifying.

Happy to give fans something to cheer

After his match-winning knock, de Villiers while speaking in the video on his app thanked Kohli for helping him to settle down. He also revealed they are to give fans something to cheer about.

“I am very happy that we finally managed to give our fans something to cheer about after a frustrating season. We went into the game against Delhi under a lot of pressure knowing that we have got to win all our games to stand a chance to go through to the knockouts. But I thought we handled that pressure really well,” he said.

The Proteas star also lauded his skipper on a good knock and also helping him to settle down. He also mentioned if they manage to reach the knockouts, anything can happen.

“I thought Virat played really well and gave us a much-needed momentum up front. He helped me to get my innings going as well. I struggled in the first few overs and then found my feet because Virat made it really easy in the end. We are just happy to finally get a good win under the belt. Three games are still left this season. We are not out of it and we believe we can make it to the knockouts and if we do get there, anything can happen,” de Villiers added.

RCB will now face Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in their next game on Monday in Indore at Holkar Cricket Stadium.

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