AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli Have Taken Batting To Another Level, Says Sunil Gavaskar

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar showered praise on AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli, saying that the Royal Challengers Bangalore had taken batting to another level. RCB beat Gujarat Lions by four wickets in Qualifier 1 on Tuesday to march into the Indian Premier League (IPL) final.

RCB seemed to be down for the count after crumbling to 29 for five but de Villiers (79 not out off 47 balls) played a breathtaking knock to single-handedly lead his team's fightback and script a sensational win.

"AB and Virat have taken batting to another level," Gavaskar told Star Sports.

"AB's flicked six off Jakati from a sweep-playing position was unbelievable. I thought he would play a scoop but it went miles over square leg."

With the spectacular win, RCB are into their third IPL final and one step away from their maiden title. Lions, on other hand, will have another chance to make the summit clash in the Qualifier 2 in Delhi on Friday.

"AB de Villiers made every inch of the outfield burn. He can do anything," Gavaskar told NDTV.

Kohli, who is the leading run-getter in IPL 9 with 919 runs, registered a rare failure with the bat. However, his captaincy and fielding were once again on show.

"Kohli's commitment is supreme. Despite stitches he gave his best in the field," said the batting legend.

Gavaskar said that RCB are now the favourites to be crowned champions of the ninth edition.

"RCB are playing terrific cricket. Anything can happen, but I think RCB will emerge as champions," said Gavaskar.

Meanwhile, former opener Aakash Chopra was critical of Suresh Raina's captaincy and felt that Gujarat Lions had thrown away their best chance to make it to the IPL 9 final.

"Suresh Raina hasn't been an exceptional captain. He got few bowling changes wrong," Aakash Chopra told NDTV.

"It will be tough for GL to enter final. This was their best chance."