IPL 2018: I was in the zone, says AB de Villiers

The class of AB de Villiers shone brightly during his 90 against Delhi Daredevils

Bengaluru, April 22: AB de Villiers made a superlative unbeaten 90, his highest scored in an IPL chase, to power Royal Challengers Bangalore to a six-wicket win over Delhi Daredevils at the M Chinnaswamy stadium here on Saturday (April 21).

AB de Villiers was rightly adjudged man of the match for that knock and the South African said he entered the zone on Saturday night.

"Some of those nights when I see the ball well, last two innings, I didn't. But tonight it was nice and clear. It buys my time an extra split second to make a decision. When I do get going, I cash in on the momentum," said De Villiers after the match.

IPL PAGE | IPL SCHEDULE

"I spoke about being a black mamba earlier (on the mic during the match). And today I wanted to be that. This is the greatest crowd. But I must say when you get into the zone, you don't really hear much. It's just a buzz," said De Villiers.

Skipper Virat Kohli played his own part with a 30 off 26 balls - not quite dominant or fluent but backing De Villiers to the hilt. Kohli walked back a satisfied man after the match.

Here's the official Man of the Match! @ABdeVilliers17 ❤#PlayBold #RCBvDD #RCB pic.twitter.com/dVqiXvzZ6A
— Royal Challengers (@RCBTweets) April 21, 2018

"These 30 runs are bigger than the 90-odd in the last game. We won. We still have a few areas to correct, but when you have the brilliant AB in the team, he always makes you smile," said Kohli.

"We understand our games very well and then he starts going off. And we know if we can get a 60-70 run partnership, we could win the game. Pity I couldn't stay till the end but Corey and Mandy did well. [The catch by Trent Boult to dismiss Kohli) I was stunned when he took it, that's a brilliant catch, it happens in the IPL specially.

Let's not forget that captain @imVkohli has reclaimed the Orange Cap after a splendid 3rd wicket partnership with AB de Villiers 🙌 ❤️#PlayBold #RCBvDD #RCBvDD pic.twitter.com/6GdDthUrf6
— Royal Challengers (@RCBTweets) April 21, 2018

"That's a catch when you look back, you don't feel bad about getting out. The way we started with the ball was very good, we were spot on until 15 overs. Lot of positives, we can still rectify a few areas. They always support us well here, and we know if the team believes then the crowd also believes. We'll keep pushing hard for them," Kohli signed off.