AB de Villiers all praise of India's pace battery

The Indian side has been facing severe bashing from almost every quarter after having lost the 3-Test series against South Africa by a 2-0 margin, with one game yet to be played. Proteas star batsman, AB de Villiers is amongst the handful of people to have noticed a few positives in the performances put up by the Virat Kohli-led side. The 33-year old lauded the Indian pace battery for having challenged their batsmen.

In terms of his own performances, de Villiers made a grand comeback into the foray of international cricket after a 2-year long hiatus from the longest format of the game. The genius batsman has already piled on 200 runs in the 2 Tests and has looked to be in sublime touch. The third and final Test between the two sides is to be held at Johannesburg from January 24 (Wednesday).

Special words for Kohli

Speaking at an event to launch the Pink ODI against India on February 10, de Villiers said, “India have really impressed me. They have surprised us in terms of pace bowling. They have showed a lot more skill and definitely there is a lot more pace than we expected. Test cricket is the ultimate challenge. It was very enjoyable to be part of a really important and good series win. I think it was a great team effort from everyone, from the fielders, to the bowlers, and to big pressure moments with the bat in hand.”

The power-hitting batsman went on to praise Virat Kohli on his splendid knock worth 153 runs in the first innings of the Cape Town Test. “Virat’s knock in the first innings was very, very good. I did congratulate him afterwards. But there were quite a few guys who contributed as well. Faf du Plessis got a half- century and Dean Elgar played a very good hand too,” he said.

When asked about the upcoming game, AB showed enthusiasm by saying,”We are now looking forward to the Wanderer’s test with more bounce and pace compared to the Centurion wicket. Overall, it was a really good Test. We adapted well to the conditions and did what we needed to do.” He went on to stress that their top order has to click and score more runs next time around. “We have tried to do that over the last few Test matches, but the wicket didn’t allow it and some good bowling as well. It is credit to the Indian bowlers,” concluded de Villiers.

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