Ravi Ashwin lauds AB de Villiers for playing a special knock

AB de Villiers slammed his 22nd Test century in the ongoing second Test match against Australia on Sunday which put his team in the commanding position. His knock helped South Africa earn a huge and crucial lead of 139 runs in the first innings which might play a decisive role in the game. However, Indian off-spinner Ravi Ashwin also witnessed the special knock from Mr 360 and lauded him for the timing of the innings which could turn the series towards South Africa.

De Villiers smashed an aggressive 126-run knock off just 146 balls with 20 fours and a solitary six. He was authoritative during his stay at the crease and most importantly he had to bat with the tail right through. Proteas once again collapsed on the second day much like the first Test, much De Villiers made sure this time around that he will protect the tailenders and took the onus on him to score runs. In the meantime, the lower order also gained confidence and scored some valuable runs.

He brought up his century with an upper cut off the bouncer from Pat Cummins and soaked in all the applause from the crowd. Even his teammates stood up for him as he deserved all the accolades. Ravi Ashwin too was thrilled after witnessing his innings and took to Twitter to express his elation. “Extremely special innings from AB, what a player and what an occasion to rise upto after the controversial 1st test. Test cricket at its best. #Abd #SAvsAUS,” he wrote in his message De Villers.

Here’s Ashwin’s tweet:

Extremely special innings from AB, what a player and what an occasion to rise upto after the controversial 1st test. Test cricket at its best. #Abd #SAvsAUS

— Ashwin Ravichandran (@ashwinravi99) March 11, 2018

State of the match

South Africa were bundled out for 382 in response to Australia’s 243 in the first innings. The visitors are under pressure now as the deficit of 139 is huge given the way the pitch is playing. They’ve also lost their gun player David Warner who was castled by a beauty of a delivery off Kagiso Rabada. Cameron Bancroft and Usman Khawaja are currently fighting it out for Australia as the score reads 40/1.

Here’s our video of the day:

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