Wish I'd Done That

Chris Jordan: 'Watching de Villiers and Kohli - it was almost like a movie'

The England bowler on a blockbuster double act he watched live from the dressing room

As told to Barny Read  |  April 22, 2021

© AFP

AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli: 229-run partnership vs Gujarat Lions, Bangalore, 2016

I took 4 for 11 that game and definitely no one remembers that because those two hundreds were spectacular.

I remember having watched the IPL from the sofa in years gone by and then being in that moment, watching two unbelievable players going shot for shot almost. You felt every ball was going to go for a boundary. We got 248 for 3 and that total alone tells you how much entertainment was going on within that entire innings.

The Chinnaswamy was bouncing and when people like those two are going, you can't hear anything. It isn't the biggest ground but the electricity running through the stadium was exactly how I'd imagined it from watching at home on TV. I don't know how to explain it, you get goosebumps.

The manner in which they played was special; both innings had everything. The way they ran between the wickets, the shot selection - it was just sheer class. It had touch, it had finesse, it had force, it had good running between the wickets - literally everything that you could want to see from two world-class players.

When you watch AB and Virat bat together, first and foremost, you can see the type of relationship they have off the field. Having been in the dressing room with them, knowing what they think of each other and knowing the respect they have for each other, to see them out there literally playing like they were out in the back garden and having so much fun with it was really refreshing.

I was happy to be on that team than any other team at that point. You always have a little bit of sympathy for the bowlers because you find yourself in those situations on occasion, but I didn't think of that at the time because I was so in awe of the greatness on display.

You've just got to look at the experience in the Gujarat line-up at the time - they had Dwayne Bravo, Praveen Kumar, Brendon McCullum was their captain. That really did elevate the level of performance and the heights that de Villiers and Kohli reached on that day.

I remember sitting there thinking, "I'm so glad to be a part of this moment today." It was almost like a movie. It was an unbelievable spectacle and I've watched it back a couple of times. It was an awesome day.

 

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