Why Indian fans love AB, and root for him even during his match-defining knocks against us

DURING THE FOURTH ODI between India and South Africa at Chennai on Thursday, a TV poll popped a question -- whose innings was better, Virat Kohli or AB de Villiers? The answer surprised quite a few people.

Fifty-two percent of the people voted for the South African, while the remaining 48 percent went in Kohli's favour. Even the commentators were amazed, especially because they expected Kohli to win, since his knock helped India win the game. Such is the aura of a certain AB de Villiers. His magic cannot be undone, his masterclass cannot be forgotten. 

The TV poll may not be enough to gauge the popularity of a cricketer based on a single innings on one day, but it does say a lot about his fans. When was the last time a cricketer was applauded, cheered and respected for his performances away from home, in a different country, amidst a different audience? One name that immediately comes to our mind is that of Sachin Tendulkar. No matter where he played in the world, Tendulkar's batting class mesmerized one and all and left the crowd speechless. Receiving a standing ovation from the some of the elitest crowds was a common sight for the genius of Sachin.

In the first ODI at Green Park, the Kanpur crowd went berserk as AB inched closer towards his century, and chants of "AB, AB" became louder before the final ball was bowled. Eventually, he got to his hundred with a six off the last delivery. The Indian bowlers were handed a pasting in the last five overs, but that feeling was taken over by the sheer happiness of watching de Villiers get to his century. How often does a rival batsman get an applause of that kind while playing against India in India? AB would have thought he was in Protea land.

The Indian cricket crowd is known to be hostile towards opponent teams. They will boo the opponent bowlers. They will even boo the umpires if their decisions go against the home team. But when it comes to their own players, every single run is accompanied by a clap, every wicket is celebrated. There is an obvious bias. With AB, the rule changes. Whether he's clad in SA colours or the red-hot RCB ones, every shot that comes out of his willow is looked upon with utmost respect. The crowd simply loves him!

AB's extraordinary batting skills have made him immensely popular in a country like India, where every second child dreams of becoming a cricketer. His razor-sharp fielding brings out the "oohs" and the "aahs" in a tight IPL game. And the truth is, you really want to see him explode on the field, even if it comes at the cost of watching your team lose. Obviously, the ideal scenario would be getting to watch AB's swashbuckling batting and then cheering for your team to win, as was the case on Thursday in Chennai.

At Chepauk, for the second time in the series, the crowd got behind a fighting de Villiers, who got to his 22nd ODI hundred while desperately trying to win the game. You could sense the desperation in every ball he faced, you could see the desire in his eyes. Once again, Indian cricket fans showed just how much they loved watching him bat, applauding him as left the ground even as India was nearing victory. If it wasn't a match that India needed to win to stay in the series, there would have been many who would have wanted AB to carry on and single-handedly win the match for his team!

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