Akshdeep Nath faces RCB fans’ fury for not responding to AB de Villiers’ run call in MI game

Whenever Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) take the field in the Indian Premier League (IPL), their supporters invariably root for the big two – captain Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, the dashing South African batsman. Monday’s game against Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium was no different and de Villiers did not disappoint his fans with yet another swashbuckling half-century (75 off 51 balls) that propelled RCB’s score to beyond 171. However, there was one incident in the final over of the RCB innings that turned the fans off.

The final over was bowled by Lasith Malinga who had taken MI to a six-run win in the last encounter between these two teams at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium last month, albeit controversially. The first ball was smashed for a six by de Villiers down the leg side after it reached as a full toss. The stage was set for a complete ‘revenge’ of the Bengaluru loss but to the utter dismay of the RCB supporters, de Villiers fell on the very next ball.

De Villiers whacked the ball to the long-on and sought a second run but his partner Akshdeep Nath (two off three balls) was slow to respond and was trying to regain his crease. The South African was already heading for a second and that gave the fielder, Kieron Pollard, enough time to eye the stumps that he did successfully from the long-on. De Villiers was around six inches short of the crease and the supporters saw his innings coming to an end prematurely.

Nath perished on the very next ball

The worst part is that Nath tried to score on the next ball but only managed a top edge that saw wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock complete the catch. It was two in two and the RCB’s momentum certainly slowed down. The Royal Challengers lost yet another wicket in the next two balls and managed two bye runs in the final ball to end up at 171 for 7.

The 25-year-old batsman from Uttar Pradesh, Nath, later faced the flak on social media for his slow response to de Villiers that left his partner short of the crease. Nath is playing his fourth season in the IPL this year and he has already played for some franchises. He got to bat just once before this match which was against Delhi Capitals and his 19 in 12 balls in that game remains his highest in the IPL so far.

Here are some reactions from RCB fans:

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