ABD MASTERCLASS

 

Image Credit- ESPN CricInfo.

Venue- St George's Park, Port Elizabeth [March 2018].

In the summer of 2018, Australian Cricket Team toured South Africa to play 4 test matches. The visitors won the first test at Durban comfortably and the action now shifted to Port Elizabeth.  Furthermore, the drama, action and sledging in the first test gave us signs that this series will definitely make into the history books for both good and bad reasons. However, at the conclusion of the first test when SA lost, AB de Villiers tweeted that this series will be a memorable one worth remembering. So, everyone expected a master class from Mr. 360. And Boy. What a performance he delivered in the very next test. 

The Proteas in their first innings were struggling at 183/6, 60 runs behind the Aussie first innings total. It appeared that the visitors would bowl them out under 200 and take another crucial first innings lead. But this is when ABD delivered one of his finest performances. De Villiers scored a magnificent 126* of 146 balls and took South Africa to a commanding score of 382. Furthermore, this inning of his was not only about power hitting, but also about timing, class and finding gaps. The way he toiled the Aussie bowling line-up was worth watching. 

It is interesting to note that when De Kock was dismissed the Proteas scorecard read 227/7; still 15 runs behind the Aussie total. However, De Villiers batted sensibly with the tailenders and added 155 more runs to the board. These 155 runs proved too costly for the Aussies as they managed to score just 239 runs in their second innings. Kagiso Rabada literally ripped apart the Australian Batting line-up. 

The Proteas now needed just 101 runs to win the test and level the series. It was not going to be a tough task for them as they chased it down with 6 wickets in hand. The Proteas were well and truly back into the Series. Furthermore, post the second test everything went down the hill for the Aussies [To know what happened next, Click Here].  Hence, it can rightly be said that it was an inning which changed the course of this high-octane series.  

To watch the ABD Masterclass, Click Here.