IPL 2018: Twittersphere Shocked as AB de Villiers Defies Logic to Pull Off a Blinder

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) cricketer, AB de Villiers has made a strong case for the catch of the tournament with his incredible one-handed brilliance to dismiss Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) batsman Alex Hales at M Chinnaswamy in Bengaluru.

However, de Villiers is no stranger to superhuman feats of athleticism and he was at its best last night.

The ‘Superman’ de Villiers was fielding at the boundary rope when he reeled in a one-handed screamer – to dismiss English pick, Hales.

Somehow, defying the gravity De Villiers managed to plunge on to the fiercely-struck ball and stay within the ropes.

Moreover, this turned the game in RCB’s favour as they started to pull things back for them.

Previously, AB de Villiers (69) partnered Moeen Ali (65) to kept them going after a poor start.

The pair added 107 runs from 57 balls – to set the perfect platform for the lower-order to follow. The Kiwi all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme guided his team to a massive 218 runs at the end of 20 overs.

Early in the chase, Shikhar Dhawan (18) and Alex Hales (37) provided a good start for Hyderabad. The score was 64 for two after eight overs when Moeen dismissed Hales thanks to a brilliant flying catch by De Villiers at deep mid-wicket.

A superb 81 from 42 from New Zealand captain Kane Williamson wasn’t enough for the Sunrisers. However, they have already sealed a berth in the playoffs with 18 points from 13 games.

Meanwhile, De Villiers’ catch will rival that of Trent Boult for the title of ‘catch of the tournament’. Playing for Delhi Daredevils (DD) late last month, Boult added another spectacular catch to his CV against RCB.

However, this left all the fans and viewers shell-shocked as they couldn’t get over this brilliant effort. They took to social media site to express their excitement and labelled de Villiers with wide-ranging adjectives.

Here is how the Twitter reacted after AB de Villiers pulled off a screamer:

Saw #SpiderMan Live today! ?@abdevilliers17#RCBvsSRH #IPL2018 pic.twitter.com/mUuGVKuTn4

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) May 17, 2018

This is unreal Super de Villiers! ? pic.twitter.com/uOk7yQakxc

— R P Singh रुद्र प्रताप सिंह (@rpsingh) May 17, 2018

Spent ten minutes thinking of a tweet for that AB catch. Couldn’t think of anything to match that effort .. In the words of every fan – Kya bandaaaaaa hai yaaar! Absolutely Boombastic DeVilliers ! Freak & genius go together for him #RCBvSRH

— Jatin Sapru (@jatinsapru) May 17, 2018

Whatttaaaa catch, That to me was THE CATCH of this #IPL2018 and that too… by a mile….#ABD #RCBvSRH #Mr360

— S.Badrinath (@s_badrinath) May 17, 2018

Just seen the replay of that catch; What the Duck was that @vikramsathaye @ABdeVilliers17

— Jonty Rhodes (@JontyRhodes8) May 17, 2018

If any one asks why we call ABD a superman just show them this catch of hales… #ABD #SRHvsRCB #IPL11

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) May 17, 2018

Incredible. But then it’s @ABdeVilliers17 https://t.co/J24s2ekrdM

— Kumar Sangakkara (@KumarSanga2) May 18, 2018

Incredible. But then it’s @ABdeVilliers17 https://t.co/J24s2ekrdM

— Kumar Sangakkara (@KumarSanga2) May 18, 2018

Ridiculous behaviour!!!

— Brendon McCullum (@Bazmccullum) May 17, 2018

Also read: Tim Southee reprimanded for Level 1 offence