Virat Kohli may share a warm rapport with his India teammate Shubman Gill, but the veteran batter showed no mercy once they were on opposite sides. On Thursday, as Royal Challengers Bengaluru took on Gujarat
Titans in front of nearly 90,000 fans in Ahmedabad, Kohli sparked attention with a fiery send-off to his junior.
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Gill, who captains Gujarat Titans in the IPL, gave his team a flying start while chasing a modest target of 156 set by RCB at the Narendra Modi Stadium. He surged to 43 off just 17 balls before attempting to muscle a delivery from Bhuvneshwar Kumar, only to find Kohli at covers. The former RCB captain completed a sharp catch.
A pumped-up Kohli then flung the ball onto the turf and broke into an animated celebration, while a disappointed Gill began the walk back to the dugout.
The clip of Kohli’s aggressive reaction quickly divided opinion on social media.
Later, Gill posted a series of images on Instagram, including one with Kohli.
“Play bold @jaseholder98. Bold performance by the team tonight,” he wrote, celebrating Gujarat Titans’ five-wicket win over the defending champions.
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Kohli himself had made a promising start after GT opted to bowl first. With five fours and a six, the opener sprinted to 28 off 12 deliveries before being dismissed by Kagiso Rabada.
Regular blows prevented RCB innings from taking off with Arshad Khan taking 3/22 while Rashid Khan and Jason Holder picking two wickets each as the visitors were bowled out for 155 in 19.2 overs. Devdutt Padikkal top-scored for RCB with 40 off 24.
There was a bit of controversy too when Holder took a fine catch in the deep to get rid of RCB captain Rajat Patidar (19 off 15) in the eighth over. The TV umpire ruled the catch legal despite the ball seemingly grazing the turf. Kohli was seen having a long chat with the umpires as was RCB coach Andy Flower arguing that Holder may not have been in control of the catch.
