Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) got the better of Rajasthan Royals by seven runs in their Indian Premier League (IPL) clash at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Sunday (April 23).
Despite Kohli not being able to score big, he had a happy outing in the match which saw an episode of romance between the popular couple Anushka Sharma and RCB's stand-in skipper which won umpteen hearts.
After losing Kohli on a golden duck in the very first over, RCB rode on the brilliant knocks from Faf Du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell who took RR bowlers to cleaners. RCB posted a challenging total of 189/9 riding on Faf Du Plessis' cracking 62 off 39 and Glenn Maxwell's lightning 77 off 44.
While chasing, RR also got off to an RCB-like start as they lost the explosive Jos Buttler for a duck in the very first over of the RR innings. Devdutt Padikkal (52 off 34) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (47 off 37) then tried to steady RR boat and took RR from a precarious 1/1 to 99/1. But just when the things looked stable for RR, RCB struck back in the 12th over when David Willey dismissed Padikkal to jolt the Men in Purple again.
But what happened next caught everyone's eyes. In the 14th over of the innings, Yashasvi, who was well settled on the crease, belted Harshal Patel straight down the ground and holed out to Kohli, who completed his 101st catch in the IPL history. Kohli completed the catch with an ease and then turned back to hurl a flying kiss to his wifey Anushka Sharma who was cheering from the stands. Anushka looked thrilled by Kohli's romantic gesture and camera captured her gold reaction which has been trending on social media ever since.
Watch the video here…
Notably, Kohli currently occupies the third spot in most catches list with 101 catches in 230 matches. Former Chennai Super Kings veteran Suresh Raina leads the chart with 109 catches in 205 games.
Post Yashasvi's dismissal, captain Sanju Samson (22 off 15) was also removed shortly. Later, Shimron Hetmyer failed to find the big hits and was run-out for 3(9), however, a late cameo by Dhruv Jurel kept Rajasthan in hunt. With 20 required in the final over, Jurel only got to face the final delivery, when the match was already out of RR's hand as they managed to add 182/6 and lost the match by seven runs. Harshal Patel (3/32) was the pick of the bowlers for RCB.
ALSO READ:
IPL 2023: Delhi Capitals announce former SRH's star batter as Kamlesh Nagarkoti's replacement
IPL 2023: Glenn Maxwell-Faf Du Plessis fireworks in first innings prove too much for RR as Bangalore win the battle of Royals
