Bengaluru (Karnataka) :
Former South African batter AB De Villiers, who represented Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League (IPL), had a heartwarming message for his former RCB teammate and former captain Virat Kohli on his 34th birthday. “Hope you are doing well. Hope you have a fantastic day. You are one hell of a cricketer, but even a much better human being. Thank you so much for your friendship and thank you for being a great teammate and a great man overall. All the best for T20 World Cup to you and your whole team. Have fun, hoping you find South Africa in finals. It will be very entertaining. Happy birthday Viri, have a great day and I am thinking of you,” said de Villiers in a video posted by RCB.
Virat Kohli and De Villiers have played together for RCB for many years. They have played some amazing innings for their side throughout their IPL career and were often involved in some entertaining partnerships.
One of their finest moments in IPL as a duo was back in May 2016 when they both smashed bowlers of now-defunct Gujarat Lions all over the park to stitch a 229-run partnership for the second wicket. Virat ended with a score of 109 off 55 balls and de Villiers scored 129* off 52 balls. They helped their side post 248/3 in 20 overs, a total which they were able to defend. RCB won the match by 144 runs.
De Villiers is also an RCB Hall of Famer. He represented the side from 2011-2021 in 157 matches. He scored 4,522 runs at an average of 41.10. He scored two centuries and 37 fifties for the side at a strike rate of over 158.
Notably, de Villiers was in Bengaluru recently. His appearance raised speculations about his return to RCB in some capacity.
“I am here to chat with RCB guys for next years IPL,” de Villiers had said in a video posted by the franchise.
Dear @imVkohli,
Here is a very special wish from a very special friend. #PlayBold #HappyBirthdayViratKohli @abdevilliers17 pic.twitter.com/UT7wEdnde2
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) November 5, 2022
Coming to Virat, he has represented India in 102 Tests and has scored 8,074 runs at an average of 49.53 in 173 innings. He has scored 27 centuries and 28 fifties in the format.
He also has played 262 ODIs for India in which he has scored 12,344 runs at an average of 57.68. 43 tons and 64 fifties have come out of his bat in this format.
Lastly, he has also scored 3,932 for India in 113 T20Is at an average of 53.13. One century in 36 fifties has been scored by Virat in the shortest format.
Promoted
He is also a part of Team India which won the Cricket World Cup in 2011 and the Champions Trophy in 2013.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Topics mentioned in this article