AB de Villiers was nervous says South Africa coach Russell Domingo

Sri Lanka and South Africa locked horns for the third and the final time in the 3-match T20I series on Wednesday (January 25) in Newlands. The importance of the game was more as the series was at level with both teams winning a game each. The Proteas were bolstered in that game with the return of their star AB de Villiers who was playing international cricket after a gap of 6 months.

When he walked out to bat it didn’t appear that AB was out of action for such a long time. Despite his half century Sri Lanka edged past the Proteas in the final over of the game to grab the series. He batted pretty comfortably but South African coach Russell Domingo said that the man was quite nervous and almost like it was his second debut.

“He was nervous. It was almost as though he was playing his debut today. He was very edgy and said he felt like he was playing for the first time. It’s great – it shows how much it still means to perform. That’s exciting for us, because it’s almost like a bit of a rebirth for him. He’s fresh and really desperate to do well.” Domingo said.

De Villiers scored a quick-fire 63 in 44 deliveries to give the men in green and yellow a decent total to defend. South Africa managed to score 169 which was successfully chased down by the Lankans.

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The 32-year-old has missed a host of games for South Africa during his tenure on the sidelines, he also stepped down as the Test captain. Even though he has recovered from the injuries, de Villiers has opted out of the next nine Test matches.

“The worst thing about it is that he’s not going to play for us. The best thing is it gives everyone else a bit of, not peace of mind, but there’s clarity,” Domingo said.

“There’s no one looking over their shoulder wondering if they might be the one to go if AB comes back. So it gives the batters some breathing space to knuckle down and focus on their game and not be too concerned about when AB de Villiers is coming back,” he further added.

The Proteas coach also emphasized on how good AB de Villiers is when it comes to the shortest format of the game. He said “In my opinion he’s unbelievable in the last seven or eight overs if he can find himself set at that stage. So he played really well and we’re pleased he has some runs behind his name, he spent some time in the middle and we can focus all our energies on the one-day series.”

Before returning for the final game against the Lankans, ABD had a good List A game under his belt. He smacked a 134 three days prior to this game. He reflected similar form was seen in the game against Sri Lanka and Russell appreciated it. “He played the situation really well today. We always wanted him to have some time at the crease with the one-day series coming up, instead of coming to have a bit of a tonk at the back end.”