WATCH: AB de Villiers left stunned by a toe-crushing yorker from Andre Russell

AB de Villiers is one of the best when it comes to handling fast bowlers but on this occasion, he was left stoked by a stunning yorker from Andre Russell. Russell was called up to bowl just when a partnership was building between KS Bharat and Glenn Maxwell in game 31 of the Indian Premier League between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Andre Russell began his spell by inducing a desperate shot from the IPL debutant KS Bharat, who picked up the deep fielder with ease. For a moment the RCB fans must’ve felt confident watching Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers in the middle, but that confidence lasted less than five minutes.

Russell chipped in with a brilliant full delivery on the legs to AB de Villiers, who had moved across to the off-stump a bit and found himself in the worst possible position to face such a delivery. The ball ricocheted off his leg onto the stumps, leaving the South African veteran bamboozled. De Villiers tried to take his trailing leg out of the way, but the ball was too quick for him to do so.

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Having struggled to bowl against AB de Villiers in recent occasions, conceding 38 and 51 runs against RCB in his last two spells, the West Indian all-rounder found his redemption in Abu Dhabi. Here’s the video of that yorker that dismissed ABD for a golden duck.

AB de Villiers off to a poor start in the UAE leg

 

Despite having an impressive first half of the season, AB de Villiers has had a torrid start in the UAE. But he will not be fazed by the brilliance of Russell and will try to come back stronger in the coming games. The 37-year-old had scored 207 runs in the 2021 edition prior to this game at a strike rate in excess of 160. With Virat Kohli announcing he will be leaving captaincy next season, it adds the extra pressure on both Kohli and ABD to make the most out of the start they received this edition.