"What I witnessed was not just a cricket match, but a culmination...": De Villiers' heartfelt note to RCB following maiden IPL title
New Delhi [India], June 12 (ANI): Legendary South African and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter AB de Villiers penned a heartwarming letter for his former Red and Gold franchise following their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title, highlighting his deep connection with the team, its star batter and close friend Virat Kohli and several of its youngsters including skipper Rajat Patidar, even after retirement from the sport.
De Villiers was amongst many in attendance at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium on June 3, a historic night in IPL history when RCB and its superstar player Virat ended their 18-year-long wait for a trophy, beating Punjab Kings (PBKS) in a well-contested final.
De Villiers posted his letter on Instagram. He is RCB's second-highest run-scorer of all time, with 4,522 runs in 157 matches and 145 innings at an average of 41.10, including two centuries and 37 half-centuries. His runs came at an impressive strike rate of 158.33.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DKxQ_jDtF28/?hl=en
In his letter, he started, 'Dear RCB family, Last night was something words will never fully do justice to, but I will try, because the heart deserves to speak when it is full. As I walked into the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the sun had already dipped below the skyline, but it felt like the red of RCB still lit up the horizon. A neutral venue, they said, but when I heard the roar, saw the jerseys, the flags, the faces painted with red and gold, I knew this was home.'
De Villiers said that even in the Western part of India, they all could feel as if they were at the side's home stadium, M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
'What I witnessed was not just a cricket match, but a culmination. A culmination of belief, heartbreaks, near misses, miracles, and an undying loyalty that no trophy, until now, had been able to reward. But last night, it happened. RCB, the team that became family to me, are the champions of the IPL. Well, it feels good to say that,' he added.
The batter said that he had dreamt of this moment but never imagined that it could all come up so perfectly, with the fans, the leadership, people working behind the scenes all coming together like never before.
'That is what made this so much more than just a victory,' he added.
De Villiers also noted his brief 'eye' exchange with Virat, saying, 'And then, as if the night hadn't already stirred every emotion, there was Virat, standing at long off, right in front of me. Our eyes met for a brief moment, and that was all it took. We did not need words.'
'In that quiet exchange, everything was understood. The years, the near misses, the weight we had both carried for this dream. There were tears, yes, but more than that, there was a deep, unspoken knowing.'
'We have shared countless innings, conversations, and battles together, but the words he spoke after the game, the way he acknowledged our journey, contributions, and shared memories, it touched a part of me that few things in this game ever have. That moment reminded me. It is not about the numbers.'
De Villiers was also delighted that skipper Rajat Patidar, Devdutt Padikkal, who were starting their IPL journey during his final years with the franchise, stepped up on the biggest stage, and it was 'surreal' for AB.
'I have seen their raw potential, their hunger in the nets, their excitement just to share a dressing room, and now, they have turned that promise into history, and I could not be prouder.'
'To the RCB management, to the coaching staff, to the ever loyal fans, and to every single player who's worn this jersey, thank you for allowing me to be a part of this beautiful legacy. Even though I was not out there batting last night, a piece of my heart always will be.'
'This title means more because of the journey that came before it, and for me, this will always be one of the greatest joys of my life. Seeing the team I love finally lift their trophy. With all my love, pride, and gratitude, you Mr. 360,' he concluded.
Coming to the match, PBKS won the toss and elected to bowl first. Arshdeep Singh (3/40) and Kyle Jamieson (3/48) applied timely breaks with the ball, while Yuzi Chahal (1/37) also prevented batters from attacking. While Virat (43 in 35 balls, with three fours) tried to keep the innings together, skipper Rajat Patidar (26 in 16 balls, with a four and two sixes), Jitesh Sharma (24 in 10 balls, with two fours and two sixes) and Liam Livingstone (25 in 15 balls, with two fours) upped the attack enough to help RCB post 190/9 in 20 overs.
In the run-chase, PBKS started well with Priyansh Arya (24 in 19 balls, with four boundaries) and Prabhsimran (26 in 22 balls, with two sixes) stitching a 43-run stand. Josh Inglis (39 in 23 balls, with a four and four sixes) and Shashank Singh (61* in 30 balls, three wins and six sixes) tried their level best to keep up with the rising run rate, but Krunal Panddya (2/17), Yash Dayal (1/18) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/38) put a fine show with the ball to restrict PBKS to 184/7, despite a sensational 22 runs smashed by Shashank in the final over while needing 29.
Krunal Pandya was named 'Player of the Match' for his impactful bowling performance.The title wait continues for PBKS, who made their second IPL final and their first in 11 years. (ANI)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
28 minutes ago
- First Post
And after years of veering towards gates of cricketing hell, South Africa pitch up in paradise with WTC triumph
The overriding emotion from everyone with an allegiance to South African cricket, apart from the obvious delight, was one of relief. That this monkey was finally off their back, and that they will no longer personify the many possible slips between the cup and the lip. read more Temba Bavuma became only the second South African to win an ICC event as captain after leading the Proteas to a five-wicket victory over Australia in the World Test Championship Final at Lord's. Reuters Sport teaches life lessons. It advocates stories of camaraderie, of emphasising the collective over your own interests, and offers a chance to chase dreams that otherwise would have been put down as fantasy. But there is a crueller side to sport too. Where winning often becomes the only marker of success, or of how good a team or a player was. South Africa have been chastened by that. More times than they would want to recollect, actually. Theirs has been a team full of extraordinarily talented individuals, but somehow, they have not come together to win as many titles as their ability would warrant. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD So much so that whenever people talk about the Proteas, they remember them as that team that made a habit of fumbling at the finish. Fickle? Too short-sighted? Perhaps. But that is how sport and sporting memories work. Which meant South Africa needed something special to bin that narrative. And the . Proteas turn up like they have rarely ever done When session two of day three began, they were up against it. Australia had not run away with the contest, but they had a healthy lead, and had dismissed South Africa for 138 just a day ago. This, remember, was also a team burdened by the past. But then, South Africa turned up. Like they have rarely ever done. Almost dealing Australia a dose of their own medicine and playing, as the cliché would go, like champions. Aiden Markram, so often touted to have the world at his feet, but unable to marry it with consistency, crafted the innings of his life. And the best part was that it never felt out of character. Aiden Markram was adjudged the Player of the Match for his magnificent 136, which helped South Africa chase down the challenging 282-run target set by Australia with ease. AP Temba Bavuma showed indomitable leadership throughout the game, but especially in the run-chase. He was hamstrung (quite literally), and never let it show. Everything was so on-point and everything was so calm, which was further epitomised after South Africa won. There was happiness. But it was a quietly confident and controlled celebration. Like he wanted Australia and the world to know this will happen more often in years to come. A famous Indian captain (aka MS Dhoni) had done something similar years ago. And word is that he did just fine as a skipper too. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD There were hairy moments (of course there were) and those in South African colours might have gulped nervously when Kyle Verreynne tried to ramp South Africa to history and gloved it. But Australia had run out of reviews (and ideas) and this, anyway, was just meant to be South Africa's day and occasion. Not to mention they only needed one more run. Monkey finally off South Africa's back The overriding emotion from everyone with an allegiance to South African cricket, apart from the obvious delight, was one of relief. That this monkey was finally off their back, and that they will no longer personify the many possible slips between the cup and the lip. And now, South African cricketers can parade around Cape Town, Centurion, Durban, Gqeberha, Johannesburg and Paarl with world-champion medals around their necks. Knowing that when they look into the eyes of their people and see tears, those are of elation and ecstasy, and not disappointment. South African players celebrate with the ICC Test Mace at Lord's after defeating Australia by 5 wickets in the World Test Championship final. AP Several hundreds of them, lest we forget, flew thousands of miles, cheering their lungs out, spurring their team on and then rejoicing as the sun shone on their side - literally and metaphorically. And each of them, along with those back home, will tango all night long because the team of their hearts, subjected only to heartbreaks and heartburns previously, has laid its hands on the holy grail. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD But that is not all. In an era where Test cricket and its financial viability occupies a significant chunk of cricketing conversations, South Africa, by virtue of being world champions, will now hopefully have more chances of playing this format, without worrying about how practical it is. Or without having to indulge in a direct trade-off, as was the case when Neil Brand led an incredibly inexperienced side to New Zealand last year. And that is why this team will be etched in South African cricketing folklore. As perhaps the squad that made Test cricket fashionable and feasible again in a country that has produced so many world-class cricketers. And most definitely as the side that ended a cricketing nation's enormously long wait to be called world champions. Silencing the doubters in some style There will still be those who argue that South Africa should not have had this opportunity at all. That their chances of being here, let alone winning the entire thing, would have dwindled if they had faced Australia or England during the qualification phase. But South Africa could have lost a three-Test series to Australia, and still finished second (comfortably). Cricket, of course, is not played with a pen on paper, nor with calculators. But even then, the idea that the Proteas did not deserve to be here, in a competition that from its very inception had a flawed concept around who plays whom, is just ridiculous. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Also Read | Steyn, Tendulkar lead tributes as South Africa defeat Australia to win WTC Final In tournaments, you have to beat what is in front of you. And the Proteas have done that every step of the way - capped off, fittingly, by outlasting Australia. Meaning that fantasy has now intertwined with reality. What was treated as fiction before, is no longer just a story seeking to be scripted. It is tangible, and it is South Africa's. No more conjectures, no more what-ifs, no more thinking about coming close but falling short, and no more waking up in the night, still brooding over what might have been. South Africa left absolutely nothing to chance and nothing to fate after lunch on day three. They stared down their ultimate peak, scaled the summit and then clasped destiny so tightly that it never even contemplated slipping away. From a poetic and psychological standpoint, it simply had to come against Australia, who until Saturday, had not lost a senior men's ICC final since 2010. And it had to come with Markram, who helplessly watched from the dugout as his team crumbled against India in Barbados last year, Kagiso Rabada, who felt he had let the team down after getting banned for recreational drug use, and Bavuma, braving the criticism, the questions, the odds and a hamstring injury, as the chief protagonists. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD And after years of veering, sometimes uncontrollably, towards the gates of cricketing hell, South Africa now pitch up in paradise, with the country and their fans experiencing cacophonic joy like never before. Having carved out the conclusion and crescendo they have craved for so long. A conclusion that, in bold and capital letters, will say South Africa are, in this format and for the next two years, the gold standard, and that they will be, whenever senior cricket is chronicled, remembered forever as being champions of the world.
Time of India
34 minutes ago
- Time of India
The Year the Sporting Curse Ended: How South Africa, RCB, Tottenham Hotspur, and PSG broke their trophy droughts
The Year the Sporting Curse Ended: How South Africa, RCB, Tottenham Hotspur, and PSG broke their trophy droughts There are curses—and then there are decades-long emotional torture chambers disguised as sports fandoms. In 2025, four of the world's most tormented sets of supporters—Tottenham Hotspur romantics, South African cricket loyalists, PSG dreamers, and RCB devotees—finally tasted the rarest of flavours: victory after a generation of failure, heartbreak, and humiliation. This was no mere collection of wins—it was a collective spiritual cleansing. Each fan base had, in its own way, made peace with despair. Spurs fans could quote Sol Campbell's betrayal and Lasagne-gate with the fluency of scripture. South Africans had seen their golden generations crumble in ICC knockouts with existential regularity. PSG ultras endured more memes than medals, mocked for bottling Europe's biggest prize despite petro-billions. And RCB? RCB had become a punchline so popular it transcended cricket—'Ee Sala Cup Namde' becoming both slogan and satire. But in 2025, the gods of sport blinked. The underachievers became champions. And the hopeless dared to believe again. Tottenham Hotspur – When 'Spursy' Died in Bilbao On 21 May 2025, Tottenham Hotspur defeated Manchester United 1–0 in the UEFA Europa League final in Bilbao. Brennan Johnson's deflected strike in the 42nd minute was the sort of goal that normally happens to Spurs—not for them. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 2025 年最紓壓的農場遊戲！無需安裝 東加：島嶼農場 立即播放 Undo But this time, the footballing universe cracked open. It was their first major silverware in 17 years. Their first European trophy since 1984. And they had done it while finishing 17th in the Premier League. Ange Postecoglou, the relentlessly optimistic Aussie, engineered a European campaign that was equal parts desperation and defiance. Son Heung-min, now club captain and cult deity, summed it up with quiet satisfaction: 'Let's say I'm a legend.' The bottle jobs had finally bottled the right thing. South Africa – Test Cricket's Ultimate Redemption Story South Africa's sporting trauma is well-documented. From the '99 semi-final run-out to Duckworth-Lewis disasters, they have been cricket's perennial heartbreakers. But at Lord's in June 2025, they rewrote history. Aiden Markram scored 136. Kagiso Rabada ripped through Australia with 5 wickets. And Temba Bavuma, injured and unyielding, guided them to victory in the World Test Championship final. It was their first ICC title since 1998. But more than that—it was the moment the word 'chokers' was put to rest, not with a whimper, but with five days of clinical, purposeful cricket. Paris Saint-Germain – More Than Just Oil and Illusion For years, PSG were the bloated cartoon villain of European football. Too much money. Too little heart. Neymar rolled. Messi wandered. Mbappé ran. But in May 2025, they demolished Inter Milan 5–0 in the Champions League final. Not with galácticos, but with a coherent, hungry squad led by Désiré Doué and Senny Mayulu—homegrown talent replacing high-priced ego. Luis Enrique deserves credit for turning a vanity project into a functioning team. PSG weren't just winning—they were playing as if the badge finally meant something. This wasn't bought. This was built. Royal Challengers Bengaluru – The Joke That Became Justice RCB fans are made of tougher stuff than most. Since 2008, they've watched their side flirt with glory and fall apart like a Netflix series in its third season. The IPL trophy was always somewhere else—never in Bengaluru. Until 3 June 2025. Virat Kohli, after 18 years of being Indian cricket's lightning rod, lifted the trophy at last. RCB beat Punjab Kings in a nervy final, sealed by Krunal Pandya's tight death overs and a disciplined team performance. The viewership broke records—169 million watched RCB's pain finally pay off. For once, 'Ee Sala Cup Namde' was not a meme. It was fact. What Tied the Triumphs Together What ties these four unlikely triumphs together isn't luck—it's the slow, brutal process of rebuilding under pressure, mocked all the way. Each team had suffered for years, sometimes decades, with fan bases more familiar with memes than medals. But in 2025, they didn't just show up—they matured. Structural patience paid off: Spurs moved past their inferiority complex, South Africa stopped choking when it counted, PSG stopped buying stars and built a system, and RCB finally played like a team rather than a collection of YouTube highlights. These weren't flukes. They were the result of coherent leadership, balanced squads, and the rarest thing in sport—composure when it actually matters. Each of them rewrote their narrative in the one place their ghosts always emerged: the final. The Verdict 2025 was the year failure took a holiday. The year the memes were buried and the tears finally turned into beer showers. Spurs, South Africa, PSG, RCB—teams with cursed histories, mocked fan bases, and scarred legends—finally got their happy endings. Not because the universe owed them. But because they all, somehow, got their act together when it mattered most. And maybe, just maybe, hope is a better strategy than it gets credit for.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
39 minutes ago
- Business Standard
WTC final: Emotion overflows in South African camp after WTC 2025 triumph
South Africa's historic ICC World Test Championship 2025 triumph at Lord's sparked raw emotions and heartfelt celebrations across the Proteas camp. Ending a 27-year wait for an ICC title, the team's dramatic win over Australia was not just a cricketing achievement but a moment of national pride and redemption. The victory silenced critics, healed old scars, and set the tone for a promising new era in South African cricket. From tears of joy to words of gratitude, the post-match scenes captured the depth of this landmark victory. Maharaj: 'We Finally Lifted What Eluded Us' Keshav Maharaj was visibly emotional after the win, describing it as an 'honour and privilege' to bring the title home. Fighting back tears, he said the past five days—and indeed the entire WTC cycle—had been special for the team and the nation. He acknowledged the overwhelming support from fans at Lord's and across South Africa, calling this triumph a shared moment that the team would cherish forever. Ngidi and Jansen Relive the Nervous Final Moments Lungi Ngidi admitted he was speechless after the win but took pride in his game-changing spell earlier in the Test. He said the team's hard work had paid off and acknowledged the pressure they felt throughout the match. Marco Jansen revealed the dressing room was filled with anxiety during the closing stages. He praised Markram and Bavuma for their composure, calling their partnership the stuff 'dreams are made of.' Rabada Hits Back at Doubters Kagiso Rabada said he was 'extremely happy' and couldn't fully describe the feeling of lifting the WTC mace. Responding to critics who claimed South Africa had an easy path to the final, he dismissed the idea as 'rubbish', noting that beating a top team like Australia required excellence. Rabada lauded the Lord's crowd for making the atmosphere feel like a home game. Markram Reflects on His Defining Innings Player of the Match Aiden Markram admitted his unbeaten 136 was the most significant knock of his career. Reflecting on his failure in the first innings, he said the turnaround showed how quickly fortunes can shift in cricket. Markram highlighted the energy from the crowd and praised Bavuma's leadership and resilience, especially as the skipper played through injury. Bavuma: A Win That Belongs to Every South African Captain Temba Bavuma called the WTC title 'a special moment for the team and the nation'. He said the team had endured years of heartache and doubt, but the hunger and energy never faded. Bavuma paid tribute to Rabada and Markram, calling them 'massive players' and stressing that this title was only the beginning. He hoped the nation would celebrate and continue to support the team's journey forward.
