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Virat Kohli did it in London for Australia’s Steve Smith, and four years later he did it for Afghanistan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq in front of his home crowd. Kohli put an end to the conflict with Naveen as he gestured to the crowd to stop teasing the latter with his name chants at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi. The Delhi crowd was quick to respond and cheered the former Indian skipper for his gesture during the half-century knock in the run chase.
It was followed by Naveen appreciating Kohli for what he did, just like Smith did when he asked the crowd at Kennington Oval to stop teasing him for the ‘sandpapergate’ that led to a one-year ban from Cricket Australia (CA).
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The video of the two burying the hatchet has been making rounds on the internet as well. The two cricketers shook hands and then hugged to mark the end of a conflict that started more than five months ago during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 clash between Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Lucknow.
Kohli did not get carried away against Naveen when he came in to bat on a batting-friendly track after Ishan Kishan’s wicket. He scored just three runs against Naveen from 10 deliveries.
However, Kohli made it count against others. He scored 55 runs from 56 balls featuring six fours. He hit the winning boundary as India chased down the target of 274 with eight wickets in hand and 15 overs to spare. On the other hand, Naveen conceded 31 runs from five overs but remained wicketlesss.
This was Kohli’s second half-century in the ongoing World Cup. It is his 68th half-century in the format. Earlier this month, the 34-year-old surpassed Sachin Tendulkar to become the highest run-scorer in ODI run chases.
Earlier in the innings, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma broke several records with his 131-run knock that was laced with 16 fours and five sixes. He broke Tendulkar’s record for most centuries in the World Cup. Also, he busted Chris Gayle’s record for most sixes in international cricket.
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