For a batsman of his calibre, A B de Villiers has featured in very few finals.
Naturally, the South African was delighted after single-handedly guiding Royal Challengers Bangalore into the Indian Premier League final following a four-wicket win over Gujarat Lions in Bengaluru, on Tuesday.
De Villiers played a match-winning knock of 79 not out off just 47 balls in the Qualifier 1 match to help RCB stage one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the tournament, after they were reduced to 29 for five at one stage, chasing 160 for victory.
Gujarat looked in total control at one stage as Virat Kohli (0), Chris Gayle (9), KL Rahul (0) and Shane Watson all perished cheaply within the first five overs.
"To be in the IPL final means much to me and I have not played in a lot of finals throughout my career. Having played for RCB for six years... have not seen playing in finals. It is a great honour and privilege to be in the finals with this great franchise, which has looked after me and the team over the years," de Villiers said after the match.
"Lot of people were saying we were under-performing, but moments like this makes things worthwhile. We had great team spirit for some years now and have played some good cricket, but never got to really enjoy the finals. Hopefully, we will win it, but we don't know what's going to happen," he added.
Chasing 159 for victory, the hosts looked down and out at 29 for five wickets, Dhawal Kulkarni grabbing four of them, before de Villiers took charge, putting on an unbroken stand of 91 runs from 52 balls for the seventh wicket with Iqbal Abdullah to steer the team home in 18.2 overs.
Asked about the victory, de Villiers said: "Kulkarni bowled a fantastic spell and lots of credit is going to go to him. He basically had the game in their pockets, but, like Zaheer Khan (his former RCB team-mate) always tells me, it is a funny little game and you are never out of it. So we always had a belief in the back of our minds. They almost won the game in powerplay and we just kept fighting, kept fighting."
Asked if he would rate his 79 not out as one of the best innings of his IPL career, he said he does not worry about personal milestones.
"I always said it. I honestly don't give a damn about any stats. I don't think anything about my hundreds or fifties. It was special for me to cross the line for the team and win a game. That is why I play this game."
De Villiers said the M Chinnaswamy wicket played funny and anything about 160 runs to chase would have spelt trouble for his team.
"Yes, it was a funny kind of a wicket. While we were bowling, I thought anything above 160 we will be in trouble. The wicket didn't seem like a wicket we can go and score out there," he said.
Talking about his game-changing partnership with Abdulla, he said the left-hander showed great calm in a pressure situation.
"I had planned to talk to him, but probably he -- Abdullah -- is calmer than me. He has done this before. He has a very calm head on his shoulders. Straightaway he missed one and I was trying to tell him. To be very honest, he didn't need talking to him after that again. It was a fantastic partnership."
On playing a risky shot, like the reverse sweep, in a crunch situation, de Villiers said he plays according to his instincts.
"It is a funny thing. Virat and I actually spoke about it before our batting innings. He was full of energy, full of information, and I told him, 'Virat, I will just go naturally about it'.
"I don't think too much. He is a thinker. I am not a big thinker. I will try and assess what is going on and don't think about it too much and I am never 100 per cent sure. It is very easy to say, but also have got out playing the shot before.
"It is a fine line but I follow my instincts and try and watch the ball closely. I have played the game for many years and I know my talent will take over if I watch the ball and enjoy myself out there. We had a smile on our faces for most of our innings even though we were under lot of pressure. I have played long enough to know what is required for us to cross the line and yeah so, instinct I would say," he said.
The South African batsman said the threat of rain hovering around provided the required momentum for the team to increase the run-rate which eventually pumped him up.
"Virat sent a message that we have to be a little bit positive because the rains were around and try to increase the run-rate. Luckily that gave us momentum and this crowd was incredible. After that they got so pumped up and we were never going to lose it from there."
