On Thursday, AB de Villiers, who was already having a good day at the office, having scored a sparkling 69 from 39 balls in the first innings against Sunrisers Hyderabad, was at his brilliant best again, this time on the field. De Villiers was perched on the mid-wicket boundary and pulled off an unbelievable one-handed catch at full-stretch while being suspended in mid-air.
The match was played at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru.
Twitter was soon abuzz with current and ex-cricketers congratulating de Villers. Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli said, “AB’s catch was Spider-Man stuff, you don’t do that as normal human beings. His shots still leave me in awe, the fielding unbelievable.”
Saw #SpiderMan Live today! @abdevilliers17#RCBvsSRH #IPL2018 pic.twitter.com/mUuGVKuTn4
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) May 17, 2018
If any one asks why we call ABD a superman just show them this catch of hales... #ABD #SRHvsRCB #IPL11
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) May 17, 2018
Just seen the replay of that catch; What the Duck was that @vikramsathaye @ABdeVilliers17
— Jonty Rhodes (@JontyRhodes8) May 17, 2018
This is unreal Super de Villiers! pic.twitter.com/uOk7yQakxc
— R P Singh (@rpsingh) May 17, 2018
Cricket fans from all-over didn’t stay silent either as they took to Twitter to show their appreciation for the South African superstar’s effort on the field.
WATCH: Amazing catch by AB Superman De Villiers #RCB #IPL2018 pic.twitter.com/Of2Q1nAbJ6
— Andre (@ndre007) May 17, 2018
WHAT A CATCH! @ABdeVilliers17 @RCBTweets gets @alexhales1 @SunRisers one-handed right on the rope! @IPL pic.twitter.com/7JkmxypeQ3
— Neal Collins (@nealcol) May 17, 2018
AB de Villiers catch... perhaps catch of the tournament or catch of life time @StarSportsIndia
— Amarish Nagori (@abn225) May 17, 2018
#RCBvSRH#VIVOPerfectFan #RCB#PerfectFan & #VIVOIPL pic.twitter.com/YSrXeqYbRk
Mr. Superman!!
— I Don't Wanna Go!! (@iamtnvr) May 17, 2018
Is there anything this man can't do?
What a Catch by AB de Villiers #RCBvSRH pic.twitter.com/auNK77lPqU
Peter Parker at Chinnaswamy
— GoanPatiala (@TheGoanPatiala) May 17, 2018
Spider-Man elsewhere #RCBVSRH #IPL pic.twitter.com/hKwI7L7MYn
Superman pic.twitter.com/S31tPocJtq
— Viki (@viki_3567) May 18, 2018
AB though was typically modest as he downplayed the brilliance of the catch that he had taken. “With the catch, I made it look tougher than it was. It curved away late, luckily it stuck. I got into a bad position,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Rashid Khan also took an astounding catch. Rashid, who was also at deep mid-wicket, found himself misjudging a shot from Colin de Grandhomme and just stuck out his right hand to take an incredible overhead catch with one hand.
AB de Villiers was named Man of the Match for his all-around performance.
He, along with Moeen Ali and Colin de Grandhomme who scored 65 and 40 respectively, took RCB to a mammoth 218 for 6 in 20 overs. In reply, the Sunrisers Hyderabad put up a valiant effort on the back of some stellar displays from Kane Williamson (81) and Manish Pandey (62) but eventually fell short of the target by 14 runs.
It was a must-win game for RCB, and this victory now puts them on 12 points from 13 games. They are now level on points with Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab.
RCB plays its final group game against Rajasthan Royals on May 19.