IPL 2021: Andre Russell dismisses AB de Villiers for golden duck with a brilliant yorker

While Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) enjoyed a sensational run in the first half of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, they haven’t made a stunning start to the UAE leg. Facing Kolkata Knight Riders in their first assignment after season resumption, the Virat Kohli-led side suffered a top-order collapse as the likes of Prasidh Krishna and Andre Russell made the ball talk at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

Even AB de Villiers bagged a golden duck as fans were left in shock. De Villiers, who has rescued RCB from several top-order failures, came out to bat at number five in the ninth over. As the former South African captain scored a match-winning 76 in his last outing against KKR, he was backed to play another knock of substance. However, that didn’t happen as Russell disturbed his stumps.

AB de Villiers couldn’t trouble the scorers  

With De Villiers being new to the crease, the Caribbean pacer went for a yorker at the leg stumps. In order to collect runs at the fine-leg region, De Villiers shuffled across. However, he couldn’t make any connection as the timber was disturbed. While the KKR camp was over the moon, the Proteas legend looked disappointed while walking back. Notably, this was De Villiers’ sixth golden duck in IPL.

Earlier in the game, RCB skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to bat first. As mentioned above, the decision didn’t prove fruitful by any means as the top-order couldn’t come to the party. Nevertheless, RCB bat deep. Hence, being complacent can prove costly for KKR. At the same time, RCB need to put up a substantial effort to come back in the contest.

Notably, a lot of cricket hasn’t been played at this venue lately. Hence, the track is fresh and is giving some purchase to the fast bowlers. Spinners can also come into play as the game progresses. Hence, RCB should back themselves to defend any total on this track.

Meanwhile, both teams had entirely different campaigns in the first half. With five wins in seven games, RCB were third in the team standings at the time of season suspension. At the same time, KKR held the penultimate spot, having won just two of their first seven matches.