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Match Report:

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Vintage de Villiers demolishes Delhi

South African superstar blazes unbeaten 90 to lift RCB from bottom of IPL ladder

AB de Villiers single-handedly lifted Royal Challengers Bangalore from the bottom of the table with a ruthless unbeaten 90 off just 30 balls to beat Glenn Maxwell's Delhi Daredevils by six wickets.

De Villiers' explosive half-century featured 10 fours and five huge sixes as Bangalore cruised to 4-176 in 18 overs to get a perfect tune-up with their next three matches at home.

They were chasing Delhi's 5-174, which was bolstered by Rishabh Pant (85) and Shreyas Iyer (52).

Australian Glenn Maxwell, playing for Delhi under compatriot Ricky Ponting, was out for four from six balls, before opening the bowling and taking 1-13 from two overs.

De Villiers finished off the match by hitting Kiwi seamer Trent Boult for successive boundaries as Bangalore recorded a second victory from five games with two overs to spare.

"Some of those nights when I see the ball well, don't last," de Villiers said. "But tonight it was nice and clear."

At one point it looked likely that de Villiers would be partnered all the way to the target by fellow superstar Virat Kohli, the master of the limited-overs run chase. 

Kohli had cruised to 30 from 25 balls when he flicked a full toss on leg stump to deep backward square. 

Boult screamer labelled 'IPL's best ever'

It was there that Boult, renowned as one of the world's best catchers, intervened with a stunning grab before pulling up centimetres short of the boundary. 

Boult then grabbed the wicket of Black Caps teammate Corey Anderson (15) but with de Villiers at the crease, only one outcome ever looked likely, the Proteas legend joined late on by Mandeep Singh (17no off 9) as the visitors motored to the finish line. 

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