For RCB fans and cricket lovers alike, 17th February will always be marked as a special as it heralded the birth of a legend, rather ‘the’ legend, RCB Hall of Famer, AB de Villiers. A polyglot in sporting languages, the pre-eminence that followed wherever De Villiers went was a display of sheer class and belligerence.

The South African icon became one of Namma Bengaluru’s own as he spent an entire decade plying his trade for the franchise. As the former Royal Challengers Bangalore legend celebrates his 40th birthday, we take you through a glance at his five best knocks for the Challengers.

1.    47*(17) versus Deccan Chargers in 2012

The Challengers were chasing a momentous total of 182 and they were suddenly staring at a pitch-dark void with Amit Mishra claiming the wickets of Virat Kohli and Asad Pathan in the same over that brought AB de Villiers out to the crease. Much to the woes of the Challengers, Pratap Singh dealt a deafening blow to the RCB aspirations as he got rid of a set Tillakaratne Dilshan shortly, leaving ABD a mountain to climb. ABD opened up for the first time in the game with a cracker against Ashish Reddy and he simply placed his stroke wide of the backward point region. Even though Mayank Agarwal fell early, it was de Villiers who completely changed the complexion of the game. 

The next victim to his onslaught was his national teammate as he took him out with a flat six over mid-wicket. He then smoked Steyn’s slow bouncer, slicing the gap between the long-on and the deep mid-wicket fielder comfortably. If these two were glorious strikes by a glorious batter, the following delivery was extra-terrestrial. Steyn hammered in a 146 kph yorker and AB left his stumps, set himself up and drilled it beyond the ropes for a cracker. He followed it up with another belter where Steyn’s 142 clicks bullet was lofted by him over the short fine leg. AB started the 19th over with a bang as he peppered Anand for two consecutive deliveries, ushering Bangalore to the doorsteps of a fine win.

2.    133*(59) versus Mumbai Indians in 2015

If Kohli’s 50-ball-82 wasn’t enough to condemn Mumbai Indians to another defeat, AB whipped a searing masterclass to bury them six-feet under. Chris Gayle got out to Lasith Malinga early in the innings. However, the Sri Lankan fast bowler soon realized that it was a tidal mistake. De Villiers took over the mantle from thereon and peppered the Mumbai bowlers to every single nook and cranny of the park. 

Even though Malinga managed to claim a wicket-maiden, de Villiers rocked Jagadeesa Suchith for a couple of consecutive boundaries. His first maximum of the night came against veteran Indian spinner, Harbhajan Singh. He preceded the big strike with a clinical example of timing. This was followed by a dance down the track and an intergalactic strike that cleared the long-on boundary and definitely landed on another planet. With every passing ball, he pressed feet on the gas as Mumbai could do nothing but play hosts to a trail of carnage that AB de Villiers left in his wake. He stayed unbeaten for 133 from just 59 balls.

3.    129* (52) versus Gujarat Lions in 2016

Another 200-run partnership, another imposing win for the Royal Challengers Bangalore and a classic century for the South African basher, AB de Villiers. This time however, the ones at the receiving end were the Gujarat Lions. Once Gayle departed early and de Villiers was summoned to the rescuing act,  his first act of madness against the Lions was a beautiful drive that saw him claiming his first boundary. If the opening boundary was a prelude to the South African’s madness, the following six was a signature AB classic. There was no relent from Kohli and De Villiers as they simply imposed an unprecedented onslaught in the silken fabric of the IPL.

4.    79* (47) versus Gujarat Lions in 2016

This innings deserved a very special mention because the South African batter took it completely upon himself to ravage the Lions and emerge victorious. Chasing a modest total of 159, the Challengers started wobbling way too early. They lost half their side within just 29 runs that saw Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Shane Watson and Sachin Baby returning to the pavilion in no time whatsoever. 

De Villiers was left as a mere spectator at the other end amongst all this onslaught, before he found the first source of stability in Stuart Binny. While Binny played the anchor, AB took his time to get his eyes in. However, once Binny was out, Iqbal Abdullah dropped anchor while the Protean sprinkled the Lions with stardust of his own. He peppered the bowlers with extreme prejudice that saw him smacking 5 fours and 5 sixes. From 29/5, RCB won the game by 4 wickets.

5.    89* (41) versus Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2014

Another last-man standing effort from AB de Villiers saw RCB crossing the finishing line from almost an ineluctable morass. Chasing 156, de Villiers whacked the Sunrisers bowlers in tremendous fashion. With RCB crumbling at 59/4 at one stage, de Villiers took over the reins from there and what followed was a dance of madness. He picked on every single ball and smashed them out of the park with consummate ease. With very minimal support from the other end, de Villiers hung in there till the very end to seal a win with one ball to spare. He whacked 6 fours and 8 sixes that left the Orange army reeling in agony.