De Villiers and Dhawan provide weekend treat with a difference

 By K.R. Nayar

 Last over chase thrillers had no turning points but batsmen turn the match through superlative batting displays

When targets are valiantly chased and amazingly achieved, contests turn memorable. AB De Villiers once again exhibited why he is cricket’s superman by steering Royal Challengers Bangalore to a target that looked unreachable, and sink Rajasthan Royals.  In the second match, Shikhar Dhawan, through a fabulous effort not only cracked his first IPL century but also batted the full 20 overs to remain unbeaten.  His effort helped Delhi conquer Chennai Super Kings and move to the top spot on the points table.

The only difference between the two knocks was that De Villiers carried the team on his own to the target when a near-impossible 35 runs were needed off the last 12 balls. Hitting a hat-trick of sixes in the 19th over bowled by Jaydev Unadkat, De Villiers achieved it and remained unconquered at 55.

Though Dhawan hit more than half the score of his team’s total to remain unbeaten on 101, his effort could have gone in vain had Axar Patel not scored 21 runs off just five balls that included three towering sixes in the last over.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has a history of picking odd bowlers to bowl in crucial overs and win matches for him. Spinner Ravindra Jadeja, whom he got to bowl the last over, owing to an injury to his best death bowler Dwayne Bravo, failed to stop a belligerent Patel who hit up the 17 runs needed off the last over.

Sometimes one can miss becoming the hero of the match by a thin line. Had Jadeja bowled a tight last over, he would have been the match-winner as it was also his breezy 33 off 13 balls with four sixes that had given Chennai a respectable total of 179 for 4. Dhoni’s magic has so far deserted him as his team crashed to their sixth defeat in nine matches.

Coming to Bangalore's win, it’s very clear that no one can claim a victory unless and until De Villiers is dismissed. When De Villiers is at the batting crease, no target is safe.  He is an example of how much one can achieve by extending his skills. What makes people wonder is how De Villiers, who is nearing 37 and has not played international cricket since he announced his retirement in 2018, manages to tear apart some of the best bowlers? De Villiers had his skipper Kohli bite his nails while nervously watching the chase from the dressing room, but he ultimately gifted him the victory.

Both matches on Saturday were last over thrillers with no turning points, but it had the batsmen turning the match through their superlative batting to provide an excellent weekend cricket treat.