IPL 2021: I Always Enjoy Playing Against Sunrisers Hyderabad; They Don't Have Much Depth As Other Teams - AB de Villiers

Published - 14 Apr 2021, 03:41 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:44 AM

AB de Villiers (Image Credit: Twitter)

Royal Challengers Bangalore’s maverick batsman, AB de Villiers expressed his excitement over facing the Sunrisers Hyderabad in Chennai on Wednesday for their second league game. Just like last season, and several seasons before that, AB de Villiers again bailed out RCB to win their opening encounter against Mumbai Indians with his sublime 27-ball 48.

To put into context the AB de Villiers’ knock: there have been 6 innings in the IPL 2021 so far in Chennai, only the South African has managed to score runs, and rather look comfortable while batting in the death overs.

Dinesh Karthik’s effort of 9-ball-22 is commendable, too, but it came against a medium-pace bowling attack of SRH while batting first, on the other hand, de Villiers’ masterclass was against a strong Mumbai bowling attack – the same one which handed KKR a humiliating come-from-behind loss.

They are a kind of team you can really dominate: AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers, who has scored 520 runs at an average of 37.14 with an unsurprising strike rate of 157.58 against SRH, opines that David Warner’s side doesn’t possess as much depth in their side as other teams do, and hence, can be dominated.

Having faced them thrice last season, however, losing to them in the Eliminator – not to mention the 2016 final – the 37-year-old is also wary of the threat the best players in the SRH eleven can pose to RCB. He believes that Bangalore needs to see off Hyderabad’s stronger players and then cash in on the weaker links.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (Image Credit: Twitter)

“It’s a nice attack to face. It’s a good challenge. I always enjoy playing against them. You can get hold of them, which we have done before. But they can also challenge you with their skill, and they are always smart. So it’s a matter of us really getting out there and making sure we get some partnerships going,” AB de Villiers said in a video released by the franchise.

“And once we get on top of them, they are a kind of team you can really dominate. They don’t have as much depth as some other teams in the IPL.

“So if we get hold of them, we really got to make sure we don’t allow them back into the game because that is where they get really dangerous,” the former Protea skipper added.

Also Read: IPL 2021: We Saw How To Lose A Game That Is Almost Won – Virender Sehwag Slams Andre Russell And Dinesh Karthik For KKR’s Loss

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IPL 2021 Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)