Virat Kohli explains reason for AB de Villiers batting position

The South African great only came to the crease in the 13th over as Kohli’s side beat Mumbai Indians by two wickets, a tactic that was queried on social media

Virat Kohli clarified the reason behind the decision to send AB de Villiers in at No.5 during Royal Challengers Bangalore’s successful chase against Mumbai Indians on Friday.

The South African great only came to the crease in the 13th over as Kohli’s side beat the defending champions by two wickets, a tactic that was queried on social media.

Former India allrounder Yuvraj Singh tweeted his opinion that “your best batsmen after opening have to come at no 3 or no 4 in t20”.

De Villiers promptly struck 48 from just 27 balls to arrest his team’s faltering run-chase. When he was run out with two balls remaining, RCB needed just two runs to win.

“The opposition gets nervous about AB,” said Kohli. “We have depth in the batting which we want to utilise.

“AB is probably the only player who’s so versatile and can do what he did on slow pitches today, so we have to understand.

“If there’s a partnership on, you might see a totally different order. But in a tricky chase, you want some options in the back end, where the opposition thinks it’s not over until he gets out.”

^{Photo credit: IPL}

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