The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) versus Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) clash on March 29 was one of the most anticipated clashes in the first phase of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. KKR’s new mentor Gautam Gambhir and former RCB skipper Virat Kohli were involved in a verbal spat last season. Gambhir was the mentor for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) when the incident happened. Former cricketers like Varun Aaron predicted that Kohli would be fired up after looking at the KKR dugout but the opposite happened. But during the strategic timeout of the first innings, the two Delhi-born cricketers buried the hatchet by exchanging smiles followed by a hug to bury the hatchet. While the social media went into a frenzy, LSG had an epic reaction to the unexpected gesture.
“Humne toh bola hi tha ki kuch nahi tha (We already said it was nothing),” the Lucknow-based franchise posted on social media.
The two cricketers had an argument on the field in LSG’s home game following an altercation between Kohli and Afghanistan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq.
At M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, Kohli was the top run-scorer. He remained unbeaten for 83 off 59 balls including four sixes and as many fours. His knock helped RCB post 182/6 after KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to field first.
But RCB bowlers were taken to the cleaners in the powerplay overs by Sunil Narine who was playing his 500th T20 game. His 22-ball 47 helped KKR gain an advantage. Phil Salt's cameo, Venkatesh Iyer's half-century, and an unbeaten 39-run knock from Shreyas helped the visitors chase down the total with seven wickets in hand and 19 balls to spare.
In the post-match presentation, RCB skipper Faf du Plessis defended Kohli’s strike rate of 140 as he said, “Looking at the way we batted in the first innings, even if you have someone in there, Virat was struggling to hit the ball just because there was lack of pace and the two-pacedness.”
Meanwhile, Kohli reclaimed the Orange Cap. He has 181 runs from three innings at an average of 90.50.
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