De Villiers carries Bangalore to 7-wicket win
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Oct 17, (AP): AB de Villiers smashed four sixes in the last two overs and propelled Royal Challengers Bangalore to the top three of the Indian Premier League with a seven-wicket win against Rajasthan Royals on Saturday.
With Bangalore needing 35 off the last two overs, the South African hammered three successive sixes off leftarm seamer Jaydev Unadkat’s first three balls of the 19th over. That over ended up costing 25 runs as Unadkat finished with 0-46 from four overs.
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De Villiers finished on 55 not out off 22 balls. He brought up victory by hitting Jofra Archer for a big six over mid-wicket as Bangalore reached 1793 with two deliveries to spare.
“I want to perform for the team and show the owners I’m here for a good reason,” de Villiers said. “When Unadkat was bowling, I was looking leg side but to be honest I was nervous because I knew I had to hit it well, luckily I got a few away.”
Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals and Bangalore occupy the top three slots with 12 points each.
The defeat has pushed Rajasthan into a very tight corner with six points from nine games and only five matches left.
Earlier, South Africa pacer Chris Morris took 4-26 to restrict Rajasthan to 177-6 despite skipper Steve Smith returning to form with 57 off 36. Smith had struggled to score since notching back-to-back half centuries in the first two games at Sharjah.
Morris, who removed England’s Ben Stokes (15) and Jos Buttler (24), bowled an excellent last over for just four runs and took two wickets.
Morris had Smith caught at sweeper cover and got Archer leg before wicket off a toe-crushing last ball of the innings.
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Left-handed batsmen Darren Bravo and Shimron Hetmyer and all-rounder Keemo Paul are back in the West Indies Test squad for a two-match series in New Zealand but Shai Hope has been dropped.
Bravo’s highest Test score of 218 came in Dunedin, New Zealand in 2013.
Hope, a veteran of 34 Tests, has had a poor recent run in Test cricket. He’s averaged 19.48 since December 2017 and just 14.45 since February 2019, lowering his career Test average to 26.27.
A group of six reserves will also travel to New Zealand to help prepare the Test squad during a quarantine period and training camp as well as cover for injuries.
Wicketkeeper Andre Fletcher will be in the Twenty20 squad for the first time since 2018 for a three-game series in New Zealand next month preceding the Tests. All-rounder Kyle Mayers has also been included for the first time after starring in the recent Caribbean Premier League.
All-rounder Andre Russell and toporder batsmen Lendl Simmons and Evin Lewis opted not to tour because of travel concerns and quarantines related to the pandemic.
The T20 series is set to start on Nov 27 in Auckland, followed by games in Mount Maunganui on Nov 29 and 30. The Tests are scheduled for Dec 3-7 at Seddon Park in Hamilton and from Dec 11-15 at the Basin Reserve in Wellington.