De Villiers goes bonkers in amazing IPL assault

AB de Villiers smashed an unbeaten 73 off 33 balls, taking a particular liking to the pace of Pat Cummins, as Royal Challengers Bangalore overwhelmed Kolkata Knight Riders by 82 runs in the Indian Premier League.

De Villiers was initially circumspect on his arrival to the crease in the 13th over, hitting 10 runs from his first 10 balls before an extraordinary explosion of boundary hitting.

Two sixes and a four followed in his next four balls before Cummins was recalled to the attack for his final over, the innings' 17th. De Villiers took him for two sixes and a four as the over went for 19 runs.

Cummins four overs went for 38 runs in total after earlier tight bowling, that included a showdown with his Australia teammate Aaron Finch, the RCB opener.

Finch shrugged off his recent struggles in the IPL, advancing down the track on his second ball to flick Cummins to the mid-wicket fence, as he hit 47 from 37 balls before being bowled after giving himself room searching for another boundary.

Finch's dismissal brought De Villiers to the crease, and the South African veteran – who has held talks with the Brisbane Heat about a return to the KFC BBL this summer – launched six sixes and five fours in total as he overshadowed batting partner Virat Kohli (33 off 28) and helped rocket Bangalore's total to 2-194.

"It is a tremendous win against a very strong side," Kohli said.

"Barring one superhuman (de Villiers), every batsman struggled on the pitch. It was a fabulous knock. We were looking at 160-165, and it was only thanks to his genius we got to 195. I was happy we could string together a partnership, and mine was the best seat to watch from."

Kolkata's reply saw the top order routed by the Bangalore spinners – Washington Sundar (2-12) and Yuzvendra Chahal (1-12) – before being restricted to a paltry 9-112.

Kolkata opener Shubman Gill top-scored with 34 off 25 balls, but fellow opener Tom Banton, on his IPL debut, was bowled for 8 after 12 balls.

"AB (de Villiers) is a world-class player, he is hard to stop and was the difference between the two teams," Kolkata skipper Dinesh Karthik said.

"Even if we had restricted them to 175, there are a few things we need to do better."

Kolkata's attack was weakened when they left Sunil Narine on the sidelines following his report for suspect bowling action in the team's previous match, putting him on a 'warning list'.

The Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals and Bangalore are joint leaders at the IPL's halfway mark, where all teams have played seven matches. Kolkata is fourth.

A mid-season transfer window is now open for the IPL franchises that this year includes international players for the first time.

Players who have made two or less appearances are eligible to be transferred to a different club, which may open opportunities for some of the Australians who have had minimal impact so far this season.

Australian players eligible for a transfer include Mumbai's Chris Lynn and Nathan Coulter-Nile, Josh Hazlewood at Chennai, Alex Carey and Daniel Sams at Delhi, Sunrisers' Billy Stanlake, Chris Green of Kolkata, Andrew Tye who is at Rajasthan and RCB pair Josh Philippe and Adam Zampa.