Durban: AB de Villiers became the first man to make a century in this year's edition of the IPL. After that innings, CNN-IBN spoke exclusively to the man who is among the batsmen making opposition attacks sweat.
AB de Villiers: I've been struggling in Twenty20 cricket in the past. I didn't have a great tournament in India last year. So it was really important for me to show what I was capable of. Things just happened my way, with a bit of fortune here and there. And I just loved playing my shots towards the end of my innings and it was just my day. Continue reading below
CNN-IBN: How will you rate this innings in terms of significance in your career?
AB de Villiers: I've normally done well in innings where I have been dropped. I got dropped here when I was on 50, so it's not one of my best. But it definitely kickstarted my Twenty20 career. So hopefully I'll be a better player in Twenty20s in the future.
CNN-IBN: It's not easy to bat when someone like Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir depart early.
AB de Villiers: Yes, it put a lot of pressure on me and Dilshan. He started very well, so I decided to just rotate the strike and score the odd boundary here and there. But it sort of allowed me to get in with the first 20-30 balls. And when I got to 50 I just expressed myself and had a good day.
CNN-IBN: Sunil Gavaskar feels that along with Gautam Gambhir, you're one of the most improved batsmen.
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AB de Villiers: It's an unbelievable compliment from a great player. I have worked very hard this season, things have gone my way. I've played very good cricket and I'm in good form. The secret lies in keeping that form going. So, I'm going to try and do exactly that. I'm just going to stick to my game plan.
CNN-IBN: Although it's a little too early, but two wins out of two matches - people have started calling you favourites.
AB de Villiers: I won't say that. It went exactly the same way last year. I think we won three in a row and we didn't end up winning the tournament. But we are going to stick to our game plans and play our game and hope to give our best - go out there, express ourselves and play good cricket. Hopefully, we'll come out on top in the tournament.
CNN-IBN: What's the road ahead for Delhi Daredevils and you?
AB de Villiers: We're going to Port Elizabeth from here on in. Every game is tough, we will have to play well to win this tournament. But we're not going to change anything. We have an awesome batting line-up, we've got talented bowlers and an awesome fielding side. So we're just going to do what we've been doing in the last few weeks. Hopefully it will all work for us. But the next game is in Port Elizabeth and hope we make it three out of three.