AB de Villiers turned back the clock with a vintage display as he led South Africa Champions to a dominant 88-run win (DLS method) over India Champions in the ongoing World Championship of Legends (WCL). The legendary batter smashed an unbeaten 63 off just 30 balls and was rightfully named Player of the Match for his brilliant all-round performance.
Batting first, South Africa were in a spot of bother at 68/3 in 8.4 overs. But skipper de Villiers stood tall under pressure, displaying a mix of smart placement and clean power-hitting. His knock, which included four sixes and three boundaries, came at a staggering strike rate of 210. He found solid support from Hashim Amla (22 off 19), JJ Smuts (30 off 17), and Jacques Rudolph (24 off 20), helping the side post a competitive 208/6 in 20 overs.
India’s bowlers struggled throughout the innings, with Vinay Kumar leaking 44 runs in three wicketless overs and Abhimanyu Mithun conceding 51 from his four. Piyush Chawla and Yusuf Pathan picked up two wickets each, but South Africa’s middle and lower order kept the scoreboard ticking.
In reply, India Champions never got going and crumbled to 111/9 in 18.2 overs, falling well short of the target. Due to a floodlight malfunction, the match result was eventually decided by the DLS method.
While de Villiers shone with the bat, his fielding at the age of 41 left fans awestruck. One moment, in particular, stood out — during Yusuf Pathan’s dismissal. Sprinting to the boundary, de Villiers grabbed the catch while sliding dangerously close to the rope. Displaying sharp presence of mind, he flicked the ball mid-air to Sarel Erwee, who completed the catch just inside the boundary, triggering wild reactions in the stadium and on social media.
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