'You hit him for a 94-metre six': Virat Kohli recalls 2016 incident as AB de Villiers inducted in ICC Hall of Fame

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Virat Kohli's admiration for AB de Villiers was at its best as he wrote an open letter to the South African superstar on the occasion of his induction to the ICC Hall of Fame.

The South Africa legend was inducted in the ICC Hall of Fame alongside former India spinner Neetu David and former England captain Alastair Cook.

Virat Kohli wrote an open letter to Ab de Villiers upon request from the ICC. Kohli grabbed the opportunity with both his hands, and shared several anecdotes to highlight the greatness of AB de Villiers.

Kohli revealed an incident from the IPL 2016 in which AB de Villiers was finding it difficult to face Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) spinner Sunil Narine.

"There is no better example in my mind than when we were batting together for RCB in Kolkata in 2016. We were chasing 184 against an attack including Sunil Narine, Morne Morkel, Andre Russell and Shakib Al Hasan. You came in to join me with around 70 on the board and Narine was bowling," Virat Kohli wrote in his open letter to the former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star.

"You played and missed a couple and told me during a timeout that you weren't picking him too well. I felt I was, so I remember telling you to give me the strike and I would try and hit boundaries off him."

However, AB de Villiers instead opted to take on the star off-spinner and smashing him for a 94-metre six on the first ball after the timeout.

"In the first over Narine bowled after the timeout, I was ready at the non-striker's end thinking you were definitely giving me a single. So, imagine my surprise when you back away to the leg side, Sunil follows you and you slog sweep him over square leg for a 94-metre six!" Kohli wrote further.

"I don't know what happened in the timeout to give you the belief you could do that. I just remember saying to you, "you're a freak!

"If I have a lack of belief against someone, I'd just try and get off strike - but you hit him for a 94-metre six without picking the ball. That sums you up. You could just do things our minds were not ready to process, and then everyone thinks 'how the hell did that happen?'.

"That is just one of so many fond memories I have batting alongside you, times which provided some of the most fun I have had on a cricket field," he added.

Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers played 156 matches together for RCB between 2011 and 2021. They scored 3175 runs in 77 innings - highest by any RCB pair till date.