AB de Villiers is timeless: Lara, Hayden laud RCB star after match-winning 48 vs MI in IPL 2021 opener

IPL 2021, MI vs RCB: Matthew Hayden said AB de Villiers’s assault against Jasprit Bumrah in the 19th over helped Royal Challengers Bangalore complete their 160-run chase against Mumbai Indians in the season opener on Friday.

Legendary batsman and former West Indies captain Brian Lara said AB de Villiers’s ability to control the game and accelerate when needed helped Royal Challengers Bangalore gun down 160 on a tricky pitch in Chennai against Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2021 opener on Friday. Heaping rich praise of the South Africa star, who has retired from international cricket, Brain Lara said AB de Villiers is timeless. Since retiring from international cricket in May 2018, the former South Africa captain has only played franchise-based T20 tournaments. In the lead up to IPL 2021, AB de Villiers did not have any competitive action with his last outing being the IPL 2020 play-offs in the UAE last year. However, de Villiers looked in auto-pilot mode from the word go.