Glimpse of Baby AB: Dewald Brevis’ best at the ICC U19 World Cup | Watch

Dewald Brevis, 18, lived up to his nickname Baby AB (after South Africa great AB de Villiers) when he smashed Punjab Kings’ bowlers all around the park on Wednesday. The Mumbai Indians’ player scored 49 runs off 25 balls with the help of four boundaries and five maximums. However, his team, chasing 199, fell short of 12 runs.

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Brevis was bought by the Mumbai Indians for Rs 3 crore in the IPL 2022 mega auction in February. He announced himself in the league with a quickfire 29 off 19 balls against the Kolkata Knight Riders. He was then dismissed cheaply in MI’s loss versus the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Against Punjab Kings, the South African teenager came in when Mumbai lost skipper Rohit Sharma. The team was 31/1. Three balls later, the team’s highest run-scorer this season, Ishan Kishan, was dismissed. Brevis and Tilak Varma then stitched an 84-run stand in 6.5 overs, keeping the five-time champions in hunt for their first win in IPL 2022.

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During the knock, Dewald Brevis went beserk on leg-spinner Rahul Chahar. He hit the PBKS bowler for one boundary and four consecutive sixes in the 9th over, which amounted for 29 runs. Varma scored 36 and Suryakumar Yadav added 43 runs but Mumbai Indians could manage 186 runs in 20 overs.

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Hours after Brevis’ knock, ICC shared a video compilation of the 18-year-old at the U-19 World Cup that was held earlier this year. The South African had scored 506 runs in 6 matches, averaging just over 84 in the tournament. He played flamboyant shots and timed the ball sweetly – reminding people of AB de Villiers. Hence, he was named ‘Baby AB’.

Watch:

“To be called Baby AB…I don’t even know what to say. I am nowhere near what AB de Villiers was. He is a guy I grew up idolising, he was my role model from the first time I watched cricket. But I love being called that, it’s a real honour and surreal,” he had told Cricket South Africa on comparison with AB de Villiers.