Virat Kohli: “I don’t need to say much, been an honour for me to bat with him”
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
India and Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli has admitted that it’s always an “honour” when he gets the opportunity to bat with South Africa’s AB de Villiers.
De Villiers is also playing for the Royal Challengers in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), and the duo put on a show in the franchise’s last match against the Delhi Daredevils.
Kohli and De Villiers amassed a 118-run partnership en route to scoring 70 and 72 not out respectively. As a result of their efforts with the bat, the Royal Challengers won the match by five wickets.
“It’s lovely batting with AB. We’ve done this many times in the past,” Kohli was quoted as saying by the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) website. “I don’t need to say much, been an honour for me to bat with him.
“I was disappointed after getting out since we had the run-rate in control. I wanted to finish it with three overs to spare, and get the net run-rate up. But the two points are important.”
Kohli also took to Instagram to express his excitement of batting alongside De Villiers.
“Have always loved batting with this guy,” he wrote. “Makes things simpler for the person at the other end. Today was yet another special partnership. Glad to finish on a winning note.”
Kohli and De Villiers’ century stand was their first in two seasons as back in the 2016 IPL, they racked up five century stands en route to leading the Royal Challengers to the final.