IPL 2020, RR vs RCB: Want to show owners I'm here for good reason, says AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers was an "extremely happy" man after he led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to a superb seven-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 meeting on Saturday.

The 26-year-old de Villiers was the Player of the Match for his unbeaten 55 from 22 deliveries while chasing RR's target of 178 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. At the post-match presentation, de Villiers said that he is proud of his performances and wants to show the owners that he is the tournament for a good reason.

"Extremely happy. Lost for words. Though we didn't bowl well, to be honest. We leaked a little bit; did some silly things. We bowled a couple of no balls, which Yuzi doesn't often do. We could've chased 15-20 less. It is always tough at the halfway going in the changeroom feeling like that. But Virat and I spoke about it, the need to reset. I was very very nervous, and erratic and all sorts of funny stuff (his mind in those pressure situations). I try to hide it. I get very stressed. I'm proud of my performances. Want to perform for my team. I have an impact and that's winning games. I want to show owners I'm here for a good reason," added de Villiers.

Speaking about the last match, which RCB lost to Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in Sharjah, de Villiers admitted that he did not perform his role as he should have. The former Proteas cricketer also mentioned that he is always trying to impose himself as he likes to stick to his game plans and if a team cannot get him out, he is going to be a threat.

"It's a cat and mouse game. A game of chess, whatever you want to call it. I always respect the bowlers. If they bowl well to me, they'll have the upper hand. I'm going to do everything I can in my ability to turn the tide. And luckily for me, that worked today. Honestly, I didn't hit any one of them in the middle, but close enough to the middle. There was a very big boundary to the leg-side when Unadkat was bowling. I was very worried because I knew I had to hit them well. Luckily, I did hit a couple well and got him off his gameplan and made him nervous there at the end. We got some important runs before the last over," de Villiers further said.

De Villiers, who has scored 285 runs in nine innings this season, achieved a milestone as a RCB batsman on Saturday. He became only the second batsman to score 4,000 or more runs for the Bangalore franchise in the IPL after captain Virat Kohli. Out of De Villiers' 4,680 IPL runs, the South African has scored 4,009 runs for RCB, while the rest came during his stint with Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) between 2008 and 2010.

In the list of most runs scored for RCB, the top five features Kohli as the leader ahead of de Villiers, Chris Gayle (3,163 runs in 84 innings), Jacques Kallis (1,132 runs in 42 innings), and Rahul Dravid (898 runs in 37 innings).

Kohli-led RCB next head to Abu Dhabi to take on Kolkata Knight Riders after a three-day break. With six wins in nine games, RCB are placed third in the IPL 2020 points table. Their three losses have come against Delhi Capitals (DC) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP).