‘Rishabh Pant isn’t going to score 118 on a tricky pitch’: AB de Villiers slams IPL commentators for ‘negative’ remarks on RCB in LSG match | Ipl News

Royal Challengers Bengaluru legend AB de Villiers was not pleased to hear the negative remarks about the franchise during their last IPL 2025 league match against the Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Stadium on Tuesday.
A win crucial to secure a Qualifier 1 spot, RCB were silenced the home side in the first half when they racked up a massive 227-run total on the back of skipper Rishabh Pant’s century. The RCB bowlers came under collective fire in the absence of Josh Hazlewood, but de Villiers said he was fuming when he heard the excessive criticism from the commentary box.
“I lened to the commentators last night, and honestly, it got me so angry,” said de Villiers on his YouTube channel. “They were so negative when we were bowling. They kept saying, ‘RCB’s bowling is under pressure. They don’t look like they’re going to manage it. Once again, an in-form team is starting to lose momentum.’ But what about this- maybe it was just a really good batting wicket, guys? To all you very clever and sharp commentators out there, how about considering the possibility that it was an excellent surface for batting?”
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de Villiers further elaborated on how commentators tend to formulate and stick to certain narratives.
“They went on about how RCB’s bowling unit was once again in poor form. As I watched the match, I thought: sometimes commentators get fixated on a narrative. Yes, RCB have never won a title, but it’s lazy to keep saying, ‘Here we go again. The bowlers are failing, they’re useless,’ without properly analysing what’s happening on the field. Rishabh Pant is not going to score 118 off 60-odd balls on a tricky, very difficult pitch. All the LSG batters were fluent out there.
“Yes, there was some poor bowling at times. But ultimately, one must look at the bigger picture- 227 runs on a wicket that typically doesn’t support such batting suggests it was simply a very good surface. RCB were still in the contest; they weren’t blown away, and they proved that,” he added.
Nevertheless, RCB razed down the tall target, securing their highest-ever chase in hory with seven balls to spare on the back of Jitesh Sharma’s unbeaten 84 and Virat Kohli’s fifty. The three-time runners-up will face Punjab Kings in the Qualifier 1 match in New Chandigarh on Thursday.