AB de Villiers predicts who will meet RCB in the IPL 2025 final
Former South African captain and ex-Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star AB de Villiers has backed Punjab Kings (PBKS) to make it to the IPL 2025 final. RCB have already reached the final by beating PBKS in Qualifier 1 in Mullanpur.
RCB hammered PBKS by eight wickets in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2025 to reach their first final in the T20 league since 2016. In the Eliminator clash, Mumbai Indians (MI) got the better of Gujarat Titans (GT) by 20 runs in Mullanpur on Friday, May 30. MI will now take on PBKS in Qualifier 2 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday to battle it out for a place in the final.
At the sidelines of an event in Mumbai on Saturday, De Villiers made a prediction on who would meet RCB in the IPL 2025 final. He said (as quoted by PTI):
“I said quite a while ago, about a month ago, that Gujarat (Titans) and RCB will be in the final. It looks like the odds are against my call but it is still cricket, you never know; it is a knock-out match.
"It takes one or two great performances to turn the pressure onto your opposition. It's still going to be Punjab, but I've got a little bit of doubt on my mind after watching last night's game," the former Proteas skipper went on to add.
MI batted first and winning the toss in the IPL 2025 Eliminator against GT and posted 228-5 as Rohit Sharma top-scored with 81 off 50 balls. In the chase, Gujarat were held to 208-6 despite Sai Sudharsan's 80 off 49.
"He followed his gut feel" - AB De Villiers on Virat Kohli's Test retirement
De Villiers' former IPL teammate and good friend Virat Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket earlier this month. Reacting to the same, De Villiers opined that Kohli followed his gut feeling. Praising the Indian star, he commented:
"He followed his gut feel. I think he has done a lot for cricket around the world over the years. Luckily, we'll still see him on the cricket field. He will be missed in Test matches, there is no doubt about it, but he leaves (behind) a great legacy with the red ball."
Kohli ended his Test career with 9,230 runs in 123 matches at an average of 46.85, with 30 hundreds, 31 half-centuries and a best of 254*.