De Villiers turns ‘spiderman’ with IPL catch
BANGALORE, India: AB de Villiers was hailed Friday as a “spiderman” by captain Virat Kohli after making a breathtaking catch in the Indian Premier League.
The athletic South African leapt on the deep mid-wicket boundary to stop a ball heading for a near-certain six and catch out Sunrisers Hyderabad batsman Alex Hales.
Film of the catch quickly became a social media sensation, while De Villiers’ fielding brilliance and a 39-ball 69 helped Royal Challengers Bangalore to a 14-run win over table-toppers Hyderabad. That kept them in the race for the IPL play-offs.
“AB’s catch was spiderman stuff, you don’t do that as normal human beings,” an ecstatic Kohli said after his team’s win.
“His shots still leave me in awe, the fielding unbelievable.”
De Villiers, who has accumulated 427 runs in 11 games including five halfcenturies modestly called it a “nice catch”.
“I made it look better than actually it was,” the 34-year-old said after being adjudged man of the match.
“Got into a bad position, the ball had a bit of a curve on it. The minute I took the jump, I realized a little bit of my body was outside. I just had to put that right and luckily it stuck.”
The IPL’s Twitter account also paid tribute, saying: “Superman plays cricket. Superman is South African. Superman represents #RCB Superman.”
The season has seen several spectacular fielding performances with Trent Boult’s catch at the boundary ropes last month also standing out.
The IPL final is on May 27 with four million dollars going to the winner.