AB de Villiers - Only good in first innings and easy chases?

[Bhaijaan]

Great player beyond doubt but doesn't seem to be all that when the going gets slightly tough and a pressure chase is on.

Tonight's soft dismissal is only 1 of the long list of failures in tense chases thats he's infamous for.

 

[zabalestmsm]

Well it is a bitter feature so far.

 

[#GreenRoars]

79 avg in chasing, and overall avg is 53. So i don't know how he is bad in chasing..

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

Incredible player but he does lose his head in a pressure situation.

There is no issue with him except his head.

For example, the way he played Pakistan in the WC was pretty weird.

First game...with the whole De Villiers vs Ashwin hype.....did you watch what he did against Ashwin in the first 5-7 balls?

Overdid everything. Exaggerated movements when he is fully capable of playing normally. Almost got lbw.

There is no issue with him except he goes crazy in certain situations..

 

[eradicator]

He should have finished the match today but choked . I would be confident with Dhoni , Hussey or Inzy winning the match from situations where 100 are required with 5 wickets in hand . AB not so much . He was getting so over-excited while tyring to hit sixes and fours as if 10 rpo was required

 

[Bhaijaan]

For a middle order player, ABD should be finishing well. But it is not, the very fact that people have to come up with numbers to support it shows there is hardly any real memory of him chasing down a tricky total with the support of other batsmen. He himself is the first to lose the plot and it is often down to Du Plessis and all for finishing.

 

[Sandeep]

Wonderful, wonderful player with no apparent weakness at all! His technical game is flawless, or so it appears to average fans like me. But the way he chokes in big games is shocking. He should have led his team to victory against Pakistan in world cup but messed up big time..

 

[eradicator]

He is very good in pressure situations in the Tests , only in the Odis he has a problem.

 

[Major]

If Pakistan have lost matches to Sa, it was always because of De Villiers standing at the crease during chases.

 

[Sachin136]

79 avg in chasing, and overall avg is 53. So i don't know how he is bad in chasing..

Which statistics are these? He averages 56 in chases.

Also you missed that according to the OP he is only good in "easy chases", that doesn't mean he is a bad chaser overall.

In pressure situations (especially in bilaterals) he does tend to fail very often. And even if he does well he isn't capable of finishing the match off well despite batting at #5.

 

[Pete Rose]

Dont rate him at all. Exciting version of Kallis without a single gun innings of note.

 

[Scrolln]

Dont rate him at all. Exciting version of Kallis without a single gun innings of note.

Serious?

 

[Pete Rose]

Serious?

yup.

 

[battler]

Gets a touch over-excited or nervous at times and plays one shot too many that brings about his downfall.
In tests he doesn't seem to have such a problem but falls a bit short in the odi's.

 

[Ab Fan]

He should have finished the match today but choked . I would be confident with Dhoni , Hussey or Inzy winning the match from situations where 100 are required with 5 wickets in hand . AB not so much . He was getting so over-excited while tyring to hit sixes and fours as if 10 rpo was required

Dhoni failed to do the task in the very first game...he too choked...

 

[Sachin136]

Dhoni failed to do the task in the very first game...he too choked...

Yes he did, but Dhoni is at the end of his career (and has done well in pressurizing chases many times before) while de Villiers is in his peak.

 

[Smbhayi]

Dhoni failed to do the task in the very first game...he too choked...

lol what.. Dhoni has lot of great finishes.. Do you remember anyone from ABCD?

 

[Scrolln]

yup.

Ok..wow. You're the first guy i've met who thinks like that.

Anyway, kneejerk thread. OP may have to eat his words in this very series itself.

ABDV has won an ODI series in OZ (2009) and in UAE (2013/14) chasing down totals in the decider matches. Although he had good support from Amla and Faf in both chases respectively.

 

[Pete Rose]

Ok..wow. You're the first guy i've met who thinks like that.

Anyway, kneejerk thread. OP may have to eat his words in this very series itself.

ABDV has won an ODI series in OZ (2009) and in UAE (2013/14) chasing down totals in the decider matches. Although he had good support from Amla and Faf in both chases respectively.

meh, I can bank on him faltering in world cup semi's/final's. tri series finals, etc etc.
ITs the cross you bear when you operate at his level.
Not good enough to win the really big moments.
will always have great averages and important roles leading up to deciders.

 

[Sachin136]

Ok..wow. You're the first guy i've met who thinks like that.

Anyway, kneejerk thread. OP may have to eat his words in this very series itself.

ABDV has won an ODI series in OZ (2009) and in UAE (2013/14) chasing down totals in the decider matches. Although he had good support from Amla and Faf in both chases respectively.

In UAE he failed in the first 4 matches (3 or all 4 of which were chases) and only did well in the last one. Similarly in Australia 09 it was only 1 chase he performed well in. I can't think of more than 2-3 good under pressure innings that de Villiers has in chases.

 

[Scrolln]

meh, I can bank on him faltering in world cup semi's/final's. tri series finals, etc etc.
ITs the cross you bear when you operate at his level.
Not good enough to win the really big moments.
will always have great averages and important roles leading up to deciders.

This was an opinion held by me too until i witnessed his performance in this WC. Steyn and Amla were the bottlers in the WC. He hasn't played enough knockout matches (finals/semi finals in series) to have a fair analysis in this regard. Kallis/Amla are certified chokers in ODI's and stats back it up.

In UAE he failed in the first 4 matches (3 or all 4 of which were chases) and only did well in the last one. Similarly in Australia 09 it was only 1 chase he performed well in. I can't think of more than 2-3 good under pressure innings that de Villiers has in chases.

Aren't chases in series deciders high pressure?

 

[Sachin136]

This was an opinion held by me too until i witnessed his performance in this WC. Steyn and Amla were the bottlers in the WC. He hasn't played enough knockout matches (finals/semi finals in series) to have a fair analysis in this regard. Kallis/Amla are certified chokers in ODI's and stats back it up.



Aren't chases in series deciders high pressure?

In general yes (unless there is a low total to chase or it is against a minnow). I'm not saying that the instances you quoted are not high pressure situations. However those are rarities and I can't name more than a couple of such instances.

 

[Bhaijaan]

The less said about 2015 world cup in reference ot batsmanship the better. Gayle double hundred, some Kiwi hit 230, Sangakkara 4 back to back hundreds and what not.

 

[Scrolln]

The less said about 2015 world cup in reference ot batsmanship the better. Gayle double hundred, some Kiwi hit 230, Sangakkara 4 back to back hundreds and what not.

ODI batting in general, since 2010/11 has been relatively easy going compared to earlier decades.

 

[Pete Rose]

This was an opinion held by me too until i witnessed his performance in this WC. Steyn and Amla were the bottlers in the WC. He hasn't played enough knockout matches (finals/semi finals in series) to have a fair analysis in this regard. Kallis/Amla are certified chokers in ODI's and stats back it up.



Aren't chases in series deciders high pressure?

Tbh, it's a South Africa issue not a ab devillier issue. Ruthelssly good most times, but faltering at a few high profile crucial stages. It will take decades to get out of this.

 

[Pete Rose]

I bet ABD would have crackled a 50 ball 70 had the openers laid the foundation right.'

Give ABD a 200/3, 100/1 kind a situation and he is the man.

Put ABD in a 80/4, 150/6 kind of a situation and knows not what to do with it and gets out like a lulloo. MS Dhoni MADE A WHOLE CAREER OUT OF RESCUING 80/4 SITUATIONS.

Pakistan vs South Africa: had the game in his hands and threw it away.

 

[Bhaijaan]

ODI batting in general, since 2010/11 has been relatively easy going compared to earlier decades.

I know right.

Kiddies have no idea what some the things happening for fun these days meant back in the 90s and early 2000s. Post 2010s, numbers means absolute nothing in batting. Its all about performing in the right occasions.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Pakistan vs South Africa: had the game in his hands and threw it away.

Thats one of the 3 dozen occasions i can remember when all ABD needed to do as a middle order batsman was to just stay there and he bottled it. You could forgive openers, they're not supposed to be finishers but ABD quite clearly HAS TO show up some finishes in his records before he retires to be considered among the greats of the game. He's not played a desert storm yet for all the hoo haa about him.

 

[Buffet]

First over-hype of AB and now going in other direction , lol.

Ab was never a gun finisher so not sure what folks are discussing here. There have been very few gun finishers in history.

 

[Impala_KaifTamasha]

This.

Have been saying this for a while. ABD is a great player no doubt but in some crunch situations he just looses his head and doesn't finish the game. It's why threads comparing him to legends such as Lara, Ponting, Sachin & Viv are ridiculous. These are ATG players who performed under pressure time and time again.

Somebody like Kholi, Hussey, Inzi, Dhoni or Sanga would've more than likely finished the game today.

 

[CricketAnalyst]

Dont rate him at all. Exciting version of Kallis without a single gun innings of note.

He won with a 150 against Australia on a torn hamstring in the tri-series at Zimbabwe in an insanely heavy chase when 2 wickets had collapsed early.

You're factually wrong there.

And secondly, not being good enough to compensate for the rest of his team being morons in crucial chases isn't the same thing as him being bad chasing. If someone is averaging 56 especially at his rapid strike-rate the idea of him being bad is just completely stupid.

 

[CricketAnalyst]

This.

Have been saying this for a while. ABD is a great player no doubt but in some crunch situations he just looses his head and doesn't finish the game. It's why threads comparing him to legends such as Lara, Ponting, Sachin & Viv are ridiculous. These are ATG players who performed under pressure time and time again.

Somebody like Kholi, Hussey, Inzi, Dhoni or Sanga would've more than likely finished the game today.

Again no, Kohli screws up more chases and so does Dhoni (compared to DeVilliers, though he is overall great), but they fail with whimpers so some idiots think it was somehow better. Kohli and Dhoni lost us the World Cup. Dhoni literally stopped the team from winning the first ODI. Even had he got first ball duck it would have been better.

These guys may or may not have finished this game off, but if they had failed blocking, this kind of stupid thread would not be made. Did you see who was left with AB? Behardien and incompetent tailenders who basically were only capable of swinging their bats and possibly getting a few boundaries here and there.

 

[ChachaCricket]

Spot on from [MENTION=135134]CricketAnalyst[/MENTION]

I've said this before and will say it again, AB often has to do much. Rebuild, score and finish because of how many chokers there are on his team.

While India have 4-5 clutch players in Dhawan, Raina, Kohli, Dhoni and Rohit(in India), replace any one of them with AB and he'll be the greatest chaser in history.

Take the WC match against Pakistan for example, came at 67/3 and literally carried the team on his back, not one player stuck with him. They kept falling like flies. Just one partnership and he would've got SA over the line, and we'd be raving about the greatness of that knock.

 

[Bilal7]

First it was Ponting, then it was Lara, then Kallis, then Sanga and now de Villers. Any great batsman that some people say is better than Sachin is predictably attacked by Sachin fans.

Yes, de Villiers might not have the finishing skills of a Dhoni or Inzamam but so what? Not every batsman is a finisher. No one does his job better than he does, which is to come in after a foundation has been set and destroy the opposing bowlers.

 

[Sachin136]

First it was Ponting, then it was Lara, then Kallis, then Sanga and now de Villers. Any great batsman that some people say is better than Sachin is predictably attacked by Sachin fans.

Yes, de Villiers might not have the finishing skills of a Dhoni or Inzamam but so what? Not every batsman is a finisher. No one does his job better than he does, which is to come in after a foundation has been set and destroy the opposing bowlers.

Good job on completely missing the point of the posts in this thread, and trying to divert the discussion to one about Sachin.

No one says de Villiers needs to be a great finisher. However he is being criticized for batting at #5 but still being unable to finish games off, along with not doing well in high pressure chases. Like you said he is unbelievably good at coming in after a good foundation from the top order. However qualities like performing well under pressure and rescuing your team often are very important and AB lacks in that department.

 

[Itachi]

First it was Ponting, then it was Lara, then Kallis, then Sanga and now de Villers. Any great batsman that some people say is better than Sachin is predictably attacked by Sachin fans.

Yes, de Villiers might not have the finishing skills of a Dhoni or Inzamam but so what? Not every batsman is a finisher. No one does his job better than he does, which is to come in after a foundation has been set and destroy the opposing bowlers.

To be fair, no one brought tendu in the discussion except you.

 

[joly]

Spot on from [MENTION=135134]CricketAnalyst[/MENTION]

I've said this before and will say it again, AB often has to do much. Rebuild, score and finish because of how many chokers there are on his team.

While India have 4-5 clutch players in Dhawan, Raina, Kohli, Dhoni and Rohit(in India), replace any one of them with AB and he'll be the greatest chaser in history.

Take the WC match against Pakistan for example, came at 67/3 and literally carried the team on his back, not one player stuck with him. They kept falling like flies. Just one partnership and he would've got SA over the line, and we'd be raving about the greatness of that knock.

Rohit has scored half his career runs abroad, has half his centuries abroad and averages 39 both In Asia and outside asia.....
has lesser ducks outside asia in equal matches

 

[Bilal7]

Good job on completely missing the point of the posts in this thread, and trying to divert the discussion to one about Sachin.

No one says de Villiers needs to be a great finisher. However he is being criticized for batting at #5 but still being unable to finish games off, along with not doing well in high pressure chases. Like you said he is unbelievably good at coming in after a good foundation from the top order. However qualities like performing well under pressure and rescuing your team often are very important and AB lacks in that department.

So you accept that ABD is not a great finisher, yet you criticize him for not being able to finish off difficult run-chases without a platform?

How does that make sense? Do you criticize Dhoni for not being able to score a 200 or Amla for not striking at 250+?

Every batsman has his strong points and weak points. No one is perfect and so it makes zero sense to criticize ABD for not being someone that he isn't.

It is obvious what agenda is at play here but you won't admit it for obvious reasons.

 

[Bilal7]

Rohit has scored half his career runs abroad, has half his centuries abroad and averages 39 both In Asia and outside asia.....
has lesser ducks outside asia in equal matches

Rohit averages under 30, at a SR of 70-odd with only a couple of centuries in away matches. There was nothing wrong with ChachaCricket's statement.

 

[soso_killer]

79 avg in chasing, and overall avg is 53. So i don't know how he is bad in chasing..

here we go again with stats.
what the OP is trying to say is when the match tenses up, and victory reality becomes reality for both opposition team AB bottles it.
Don't think we need stats to prove that. He doesn't have the composure to see things through when the going gets tough.

 

[soso_killer]

He is very good in pressure situations in the Tests , only in the Odis he has a problem.

no he's not, he's even worse

 

[Hawkeye]

Those always looking to be the odd ones out (apart from obvious Sachinistas) will try and underrate AB.


Top knocks, specially in 2015 World Cup.

When everyone fails, can't expect one man to do the job EVERY time.

Else, you gotta be blaming Sachin Tendulkar for India's mega losses in the 90s/early 2000s.

 

[SL_Fan]

A bad chaser doesn’t average close to 60 with a 95 SR against the top teams while chasing (in comparison averages 47 batting first btw). Has 3 tons and 13 70+ knocks to his name batting second in 40 odd completed innings. What a poor chaser eh.

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/en...=8;template=results;type=batting;view=innings

Quite simply he’s not a finisher. If you are expecting him to play Dhoni/Bevan/Kohli type knocks then you are barking up the wrong tree. He generally plays just one way in LOIs. That is to go after the bowlers regardless of the match situation. Which is why it makes little sense for him to bat down the order. His game is much more suited to a top order spot where he can set up the game for guys like Faf/Duminy/Miller to finish.

 

[soso_killer]

First over-hype of AB and now going in other direction , lol.

Ab was never a gun finisher so not sure what folks are discussing here. There have been very few gun finishers in history.

yeah sure but is AB even a match winner?
How many matches has he shaped on his own?
Isn't it funny how Kallis was labelled as boring and what not but even his hardcore critic could name a few knocks were Kallis was the barrier.
When has AB been that guy? Even in his preferred format i.e. ODI's he has always left it to someone else. AB has played 98 Tests, 170+ ODI that's nearly 270 international games, not a single one can be labelled the AB match or innings.
The question stands is he a match winner? Smoke and mirrors if you ask me, because he looks extravagant. and can "shift through gears" we fall into the trap of associating him as a winner.
When the pressure is on his gearbox is always at the panelbeater

 

[Aman]

A bad chaser doesn’t average close to 60 with a 95 SR against the top teams while chasing (in comparison averages 47 batting first btw). Has 3 tons and 13 70+ knocks to his name batting second in 40 odd completed innings. What a poor chaser eh.

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/en...=8;template=results;type=batting;view=innings

Quite simply he’s not a finisher. If you are expecting him to play Dhoni/Bevan/Kohli type knocks then you are barking up the wrong tree. He generally plays just one way in LOIs. That is to go after the bowlers regardless of the match situation. Which is why it makes little sense for him to bat down the order. His game is much more suited to a top order spot where he can set up the game for guys like Faf/Duminy/Miller to finish.

I can only name one good chase by him, and that was done with Faf at the other end.

Faf is definitely the more clutch player of the two, IIRC it was him who set the platform for AB in the Semi Final.

 

[SL_Fan]

Yeah Faf absorbs pressure better no arguments there. Which is why Faf is more suited to a finishing role. As I said AB in LOIs only knows one way and that is to take on the bowling from the get go regardless of the situation. So he's never gonna be a reliable finisher. He's someone who can setup games at the top a la Sachin/Gilly/Sana/Sehwag etc. I think some ppl are getting chasing and finishing mixed up. I think SA have got it spot on with him opening in T20 now. In ODIs too should not be batting any lower than 4 if you want to get the best out of him imo.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Is ABD an opener? NO
Middle order players cannot get away with pathetic finishing abilities. When the heat is on, ABD is nothing like dhoni kohli Hussey Symonds Bevan etc like great middle order batsmen

 

[leatherface58]

Those always looking to be the odd ones out (apart from obvious Sachinistas) will try and underrate AB.


Top knocks, specially in 2015 World Cup.

When everyone fails, can't expect one man to do the job EVERY time.

Else, you gotta be blaming Sachin Tendulkar for India's mega losses in the 90s/early 2000s.

You gotta expect him to do the job sometime.

He is a bottler. Even in the semis, he missed runouts which he would do in his sleep otherwise.

He is a terrific player but he is a bit of a sissy when the heat is on despite no technical flaws.

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

Guys need to calm down.

There are 2 sets of people here.

One who can't seem to find anything wrong with ABD.

One who kinda underrate him.

Point is simple.

ABD is No 5 who is expected to control the game and finish it off. He neither comes up the order and controls the game nor does he close the game in tougher situations.

That's a valid criticism.

You can't use SA's choking team as an excuse. In bilaterals, SA is the king.

When De Villiers faces incredible pressure, he either gets run out or gets out to silly shots or gets out to stupid bowlers who bowl a harmless delivery.

Its the approach.

Champions Trophy India game - Brilliant 70 but team score is 184 with 4 wickets down. What does he do?

31.4 oh dear, AB's thrown it away, he's charged out and had a heave at a pacy short ball from Yadav, it was angled in as well and AB had no room at all, the top edge has been taken at forward square leg by you-know-who 184/5

http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc-champions-trophy-2013/engine/current/match/578614.html

WC T20 2014 - Ashwin half tracker

WC 2015 India pressure game - Runs himself out silly

WC 2015 Pakistan pressure game - No one supports him but wicketsr were there and he starts slogging aimlessly, gets out stupidly

Its about the approach.

Not talking about win or loss.

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

Here's another one...England knockout game CT 2013

13.4 139.4 kph, full and wide, de Villiers plays a filthy swat and nicks off! Broad is charging around with his finger in the air - they check for the no-ball but it's about a mile behind the line, compared to the Williamson dismissal the other day. It was another cross-seam delivery, not sure what de Villiers was thinking, he flung a horizontal bat out and the under-edge was audible. He drags himself away, leaving his side in real trouble 50/4

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/566946.html

Its not the dismissal. Anyone can get out to a good ball. But ABD just figures out a way to get out to easy balls which is a valid criticism.

Still a GOAT material who can solve this and stamp his place in the history books but denial of his problem would be just sad cos it is a BIG VALID issue.

 

[sajeebmcj]

absolutely no. he is a good chaser. he can shape the game in tough situation. but his problem is he can't finish the game. he scores a quick fire 70-80 and when the game is in favour of sa he just get out . and the chokers cant finish it off.

 

[sajeebmcj]

after reading comment , it seems to me that most of the doesn't watch cricket. in odi only bevan, dhoni, kohli and inzamamul haque are great chaser. reat of the batsman are in same boat.

 

[Pete Rose]

He won with a 150 against Australia on a torn hamstring in the tri-series at Zimbabwe in an insanely heavy chase when 2 wickets had collapsed early.

You're factually wrong there.

And secondly, not being good enough to compensate for the rest of his team being morons in crucial chases isn't the same thing as him being bad chasing. If someone is averaging 56 especially at his rapid strike-rate the idea of him being bad is just completely stupid.

Yeah. There a few innings here or there, but not overall a softie at the big moments. Good numbers overall though.

 

[Aman]

Yeah Faf absorbs pressure better no arguments there. Which is why Faf is more suited to a finishing role. As I said AB in LOIs only knows one way and that is to take on the bowling from the get go regardless of the situation. So he's never gonna be a reliable finisher. He's someone who can setup games at the top a la Sachin/Gilly/Sana/Sehwag etc. I think some ppl are getting chasing and finishing mixed up. I think SA have got it spot on with him opening in T20 now. In ODIs too should not be batting any lower than 4 if you want to get the best out of him imo.

AB bats at 4/5, finishing is his role..

If he wants to shape games, he should be batting in the top order but he's always been reluctant to do so.

 

[SL_Fan]

That’s where SA are going wrong imo. Given the way the game is played these days and with Duminy doing a good job down the order I would have AB batting at 3 and move Faf down to 4.

Amla
de Kock
AB
Faf
Duminy
Miller/Behardien
McLaren (not sure why he’s being left out tbh)

That’s a much more balanced side with defined roles imo.

 

[Mamoon]

His substance do not align with his stats and playing style - that much is true.

 

[MRSN]

Yes I have seen him throwing away quite a few run chases.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

 

[MRSN]

That’s where SA are going wrong imo. Given the way the game is played these days and with Duminy doing a good job down the order I would have AB batting at 3 and move Faf down to 4.

Amla
de Kock
AB
Faf
Duminy
Miller/Behardien
McLaren (not sure why he’s being left out tbh)

That’s a much more balanced side with defined roles imo.

True.. AB should be promoted up the order. No.3 isn't a bad option.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

 

[jusarrived]

Mind you we are talking about very high standards here , so yeah AB is not a batsmen I would trust if there is pressure on .its easy to put him under pressure , he will start hitting out blindly and gets out .
A lot like Tendulkar tbh , again a great bat flawless technique and offcourse we will see stats which will tell us he was a unparalleled match winner too , but in both cases too few matches which standout .Considering their batting abilities you have to feel they should have or should be doing more .

 

[Bhaijaan]

Well yeah th e desert storms were played by Tendulkar's peon?

And the 175 vs Australia was played by his nephew..

Nd the CB series final undred was played by his chef

Nd the centurion 98,was plaed by his maid.



Tendulkar has multi dozens of ridiculously good chasing efforts to his name.... ABD not much

 

[Buffet]

Quite simply he’s not a finisher. If you are expecting him to play Dhoni/Bevan/Kohli type knocks then you are barking up the wrong tree. He generally plays just one way in LOIs. That is to go after the bowlers regardless of the match situation. Which is why it makes little sense for him to bat down the order. His game is much more suited to a top order spot where he can set up the game for guys like Faf/Duminy/Miller to finish.

Agree here. He is not a gun finishers and I think it's ridiculous to expect all gun batsmen to be gun finishers. His temperament is suitable for top order.

His record is pretty good when batting second, so chasing is not an issue with him. He can bat well in both innings but he is simply not a good finishers. He needs to bat higher.

 

[Hawkeye]

Well yeah th e desert storms were played by Tendulkar's peon?

And the 175 vs Australia was played by his nephew..

Nd the CB series final undred was played by his chef

Nd the centurion 98,was plaed by his maid.



Tendulkar has multi dozens of ridiculously good chasing efforts to his name.... ABD not much

so the total amount of matches played by Tendulkar, you could come up with only these? AB most probably already had half the number of such innings and he has a lonngggg way to go still.

 

[jusarrived]

Rohit averages under 30, at a SR of 70-odd with only a couple of centuries in away matches. There was nothing wrong with ChachaCricket's statement.

Except that Rohit is anything but a clutch player .

 

[jusarrived]

Guys need to calm down.

There are 2 sets of people here.

One who can't seem to find anything wrong with ABD.

One who kinda underrate him.

Point is simple.

ABD is No 5 who is expected to control the game and finish it off. He neither comes up the order and controls the game nor does he close the game in tougher situations.

That's a valid criticism.

You can't use SA's choking team as an excuse. In bilaterals, SA is the king.

When De Villiers faces incredible pressure, he either gets run out or gets out to silly shots or gets out to stupid bowlers who bowl a harmless delivery.

Its the approach.

Champions Trophy India game - Brilliant 70 but team score is 184 with 4 wickets down. What does he do?

31.4 oh dear, AB's thrown it away, he's charged out and had a heave at a pacy short ball from Yadav, it was angled in as well and AB had no room at all, the top edge has been taken at forward square leg by you-know-who 184/5

http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc-champions-trophy-2013/engine/current/match/578614.html

WC T20 2014 - Ashwin half tracker

WC 2015 India pressure game - Runs himself out silly

WC 2015 Pakistan pressure game - No one supports him but wicketsr were there and he starts slogging aimlessly, gets out stupidly

Its about the approach.

Not talking about win or loss.

There is a third kind like me , I have been saying AB will be the best bat in the world for a good 6-7 years , I havent seen a more gifted bat than him , with respect to talent hes a touch above Tendulkar imo . All said hes simply not among the top batsmen I would pick If my team where chasing a huge total or under lot of pressure .

 

[Suleiman]

He will come good. He just needs one good innings in a high pressure tournament game whilst chasing to put all these doubts to rest. He is good enough to get at least one such innings in. Choking is something you can't cure. You can practice, practice and practice, but your thought process won't change, and that's the case with AB. He takes too much tension and then breaks. Though like I said, the guy will come around. He has saved a test match batting from 200+ deliveries and scoring just 33, he has mental toughness, it just needs to outshine his choking tendency.

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

There is a third kind like me , I have been saying AB will be the best bat in the world for a good 6-7 years , I havent seen a more gifted bat than him , with respect to talent hes a touch above Tendulkar imo . All said hes simply not among the top batsmen I would pick If my team where chasing a huge total or under lot of pressure .

I won't too.

Not if he is batting at 5.

He needs to bat up the order.

I feel there is a lot of similarity with Tendulkar.

Both aren't that impactful in the middle order during pressure (overall, ABD is OBVIOUSLY better in middle order...no questions about that).

Both are pathetic captains.

Both have no weakness except their brain.

However SRT handles pressure way better. Has many quality meaningful tough knocks while I would struggle to name 2 universally acknowledged knocks of ABD. And 5-10 tough knocks from him.

He has to open or come up the order. This No 5 isn't cutting it for him. Or he has to work on his mental game.

Such a gift but he wastes like crazily.

 

[jusarrived]

I won't too.

Not if he is batting at 5.

He needs to bat up the order.

I feel there is a lot of similarity with Tendulkar.

Both aren't that impactful in the middle order during pressure (overall, ABD is OBVIOUSLY better in middle order...no questions about that).

Both are pathetic captains.

Both have no weakness except their brain.

However SRT handles pressure way better. Has many quality meaningful tough knocks while I would struggle to name 2 universally acknowledged knocks of ABD. And 5-10 tough knocks from him.

He has to open or come up the order. This No 5 isn't cutting it for him. Or he has to work on his mental game.

Such a gift but he wastes like crazily.

The big difference between Tendulkar and AB is that , Sachin chose the easier role , he was better than AB under pressure and probably could have won more matches for India down the order , but he would not budge from his opening position . AB will do better up the order , infact open with him he will break all the records .

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

The big difference between Tendulkar and AB is that , Sachin chose the easier role , he was better than AB under pressure and probably could have won more matches for India down the order , but he would not budge from his opening position . AB will do better up the order , infact open with him he will break all the records .

I really don't think Sachin would have given a better output in middle order.

See his stats in 90s as opener in wins. Mindboggling. Literally controlled almost every win of ours.

In the middle order, coming in at 75-2 in 23.2 overs (in that 90s team).....his output would have been easily lesser.

Even post 2000, he would have averaged 40+ with good SR in the middle order (as he did) but wouldn't have been that impactful as he could be in opening.

He just wasn't comfortable.

Of course, ABD is doing the tougher role. But in the end its all about how you do well in one slot than how versatile you are.
Cos output matters.

Though I do agree that SRT was stubborn and his unwillingness to change from No 4 Test slot even when an opener couldn't play an innings was pretty annoying.

 

[Abdullah]

I think his innings in WC Semi was cut short because of rain -would have been a game winner as he would have taken it north of 350. Was looking like a gun innings.

In terms of OP- to paraphrase what Dhoni said after first ODI - ''they will rememeber the ones you don't finish off''

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

WC 2015 SF was a great knock no doubt.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Good foundation set: check

AB comes in with 10-15 overs to go: Hell yeah

Couple of wickets: Ooopsy doopsy

AB De Villiers gone playing a silly shot.

South Africa from driver's seat into a spot of bother.


Ahhhh this is such a surprise!

 

[Bhaijaan]

12* of 24 so far.


Struggling against spin.

 

[Zak_Fan]

Looks poor right now.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Lots of edges..

Lots of pads..

Lots of coming down the track nd looking stupid shots.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Edges..

goes past wk and first slip..

lucky, riding his luck

 

[Bhaijaan]

lucky edge...

3 runs more



Edge fest

 

[Zak_Fan]

Edges..

goes past wk and first slip..

lucky, riding his luck

Was that AB or Barhedien?

 

[Zak_Fan]

AB looking extremely dodgy against spin. Lucky to be batting right now.

 

[sensible-indian-fan]

AB looking extremely dodgy against spin. Lucky to be batting right now.

Really?

I felt he was dodgy against Ashwin in 1st ODI too.

Interesting.

 

[Zak_Fan]

Really?

I felt he was dodgy against Ashwin in 1st ODI too.

Interesting.

He is stepping out so many times without making a lot of contact, almost got out attempting that when Raina missed a simple chance. Atleast a dozen play and misses outside off attempting cuts or drives against spinners too.

Gives me some hope for Test matches.