AB de Villiers turns Spiderman after making a breathtaking catch in IPL
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BANGALORE - AB de Villiers was hailed Friday as a "spiderman" by captain Virat Kohli after making a breathtaking catch in the Indian Premier League.
The athletic South African leapt on the deep mid-wicket boundary to stop a ball heading for a near-certain six and catch out Sunrisers Hyderabad batsman Alex Hales.
Film of the catch quickly became a social media sensation, while De Villiers fielding brilliance and a 39-ball 69 helped Royal Challengers Bangalore to a 14-run win over table-toppers Hyderabad. That kept them in the race for the IPL play-offs.
"AB s catch was spiderman stuff, you don t do that as normal human beings," an ecstatic Kohli said after his team s win.
"His shots still leave me in awe, the fielding unbelievable."
De Villiers, who has accumulated 427 runs in 11 games including five half-centuries modestly called it a "nice catch".
"I made it look better than actually it was," the 34-year-old said after being adjudged man of the match.
"Got into a bad position, the ball had a bit of a curve on it. The minute I took the jump, I realized a little bit of my body was outside. I just had to put that right and luckily it stuck."
The IPL s Twitter account also paid tribute, saying: "Superman plays cricket. Superman is South African. Superman represents #RCB Superman."
The season has seen several spectacular fielding performances with Trent Boult s catch at the boundary ropes last month also standing out.
The IPL final is on May 27 with four million dollars going to the winner. - APP/AFP
