Bangalore: AB de Villiers hasn't played in many finals and feels "honoured and privileged" to be featuring in the IPL IX summit clash after guiding the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) to a four-wicket win over the Gujarat Lions here on Tuesday.
De Villiers played a match-winning knock of 79 not out against the Lions in Qualifier I to pilot the RCB into the Sunday's final.
"To be in IPL final means much to me as I have not played in a lot of finals in my career. Having played for the RCB for so many years, I didn't play in any of the finals.
"So, 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 at the post-match press conference.
"A lot of people were saying we were under-performing, but moments like these makes things worthwhile. We had a great team spirit for some years now and have played some good cricket.
"But we never got to really enjoy the finals and hopefully we will win it. But we don't know what's going to happen," he added.
Chasing 159 for a win, the RCB looked down and out at 29 for five, with Dhawal Kulkarni grabbing four of them, before De Villiers smashed 79 not out off 47 balls to script a sensational comeback and take the team home in 18.2 overs.
Asked about the Qualifier I 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 the Lions' pockets.
"But like Zaheer Khan always tells me, it is a funny little game and you are never out of it. So, we always had a belief at the back of our minds. They almost won the game in the Powerplay and we just kept fighting and fighting," he said.
Asked if would rate his 79 not out as one of the best innings of his IPL career, De Villiers said he is least bothered about statistics but only concerned about helping the team to victory.
"I always said it. Honestly, I am least bothered 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," he said.
De Villiers said the Chinnaswamy wicket played funny and anything about 160 runs to chase would have spelt trouble for his team.
"It was funny kind of a wicket. While we were bowling, I thought anything above 160 and we will be in trouble. The wicket didn't seem like one where we can go and score out there," he said.
De Villiers said that after the fall of five wickets for just 29 runs on board, he felt there was a need of building a partnership to see the RCB through.
"I always felt I needed a partnership and a foundation in the first six overs to see the team through," he said.
Asked about his unbeaten 91-run partnership with Iqbal Abdulla, De Villiers said his teammate was very calm and showered praise on the latter for a fantastic support.
"I had planned to talk to him. But probably he 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, I didn't need to talk to him after that again. It was a fantastic partnership," De Villiers said.
On playing a risky shot as reverse sweep in a crunch situation, De Villiers said he plays the stroke according to his instincts based on the long years of cricket experience he has. He also said he had discussed about it with captain Virat Kohli before going out to bat.
