South African star AB de Villiers ha🍰s kept the Brisbane Heat in the playoffs hunt, with his first BBL half-centuꩵry guiding his side to a 71-run win over the Melbourne Stars on Saturday.
After winning the bat flip, the Heat posted 186-5 on the board, thanks to some lusty late hitting byꦗ de Villiers, the Stars fizzled to be all out for 115 runs in reply at t🌺he MCG.
Heat were🌄 seventh going into the cl𒆙ash with three defeats in a row but can still make the playoffs with a win over the Melbourne Renegades at Marvel Stadium on Monday.
Stars’ opener Marcus Stoinis, the competition’s leading run-scorer, belted 16 off the first over but departed for 17; Peter Handscomb top-scored with just 27.
Glenn Maxwell (1), Nic Maddinson (9♓) and Nathan Coulter-Nile (0) were dismissed in quick succession🐎 in a pivotal batting collapse.
Mitchell Swepson 💖(3-31), Mujeeb Ur Rahman (2-11) and James Pattinson (2-17) did the damage for the Heat with the ball.
De Villiers helped set up the result, smashing six sixes on his way to 71 from 37 balls, with three of them coming from the final over of the innings bowled by Sta𓄧rs debutant Dilbar Hussain.
The Proteas veteran also took the gloves in place of regula🔯r wicketke෴eper Jimmy Peirson and was involved in a run-out of Handscomband (27) and the stumping of Adam Zampa (1).
Here is how Twitter reacted:
What we've been waiting to see from … 😍
MASSIVE!
— Brisbane Heat (@HeatBBL)
AB de Villiers assists a Mujeeb run-out.
Pete Handscomb is the victim of the mix-up 😬
— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL)
That's quite ferocious from AB de Villiers 😳😂
— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL)
That satisfying smile from AB 💙😍
— RajuTarak🇮🇳 (@TarakActivist)
//twitter.com/YashdeVillie🍷rs/𒆙status/1221031028921233408
AB de Villiers.. Remember the Name.
— anaam. (@Aayan4910)
//twitter.com/Commander_offl/status/122100ꦉ8941737336833
Can't ever write off a champion.
Superb perfor🐭mance by AB de Villiers to give Heat a crucial win.
— CricBlog ✍ (@cric_blog)
AB De Villiers wins his first Man Of The Match Award in the BBL, we've witnessed the same vintage ABD today!! Was so pleasing to watch him in this form.
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra)
With gloves 🤩
This is soo goooood!😭❤️— AB’s (@Aditiab17)
