Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers holds a special in the hearts of all Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) fans. De Villiers, who joined RCB in 2011, played with the franchise for over a decade before hanging his boots in 2021. Apart from his unmatched skills with the bat, which saw him pile plenty of runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the former South Africa batter was also a force to reckon with on the outfield. In 2018, de Villiers had pulled off a gravity-defying catch on the boundary ropes during a match against the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH).
On Thursday, RCB fans got to witness a similar moment as Australia all-rounder Georgia Wareham saved a certain six with her acrobatic effort, which had a hint of nostalgia to it.
Wareham’s effort reminded RCB fans of de Villiers’ stunning catch in 2018. The incident took place during the WPL 2024 match between RCB and Delhi Capitals at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Here’s how Internet reacted:
WHAT A SAVE BY GEORGIA WAREHAM…!!!!
This reminds of ABD save for RCBpic.twitter.com/DKjNiPsO15
— Virat Kohli Fan Club (@Trend_VKohli) February 29, 2024
– Ab De Villiers in IPL.
– Georgia Wareham in WPL.
– Both Incredible fielding in Chinnaswamy from RCB’s players! pic.twitter.com/J6COfgyWI2
— CricketMAN2 (@ImTanujSingh) February 29, 2024
Georgia Wareham AB de Villiers #WPL2024 #RCBWvsDCW #RCB pic.twitter.com/XL8H7NSMiL
— Yash Pawar31 (@Yashpawar_99) February 29, 2024
Just 2 RCB players showing their extraordinary fielding effort
AB De Villiers Georgia Wareham pic.twitter.com/qTRwbK8Zb8
— (@amarcric_) February 29, 2024
Meanwhile, DC braved a sensational battering from Smriti Mandhana to hand a fighting RCB a 25-run defeat.
Mandhana fused power and grace to score 74 (43b, 10×4, 3×6) but other batters did not quite make it big as Royal Challengers, who were without indisposed star all-rounder Elysse Perry, ended up at 169 for nine.
The Capitals made a challenging 194 for five as Shafali Varma mustered a 31-ball 50 after they were asked to bat first.
But that total was under severe threat when Mandhana tore into the DC attack with panache.
After her dismissal, the task only grew steeper for RCB as left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen (3/21) produced an excellent spell. RCB lost six wickets for 18 runs at that stage.
This was RCB’s first defeat of the season.
(With RCB Inputs)
Topics mentioned in this article