Former Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli (31) and Lucknow Super Giants mentor Gautam Gambhir were boiling with anger after the completion of the recently concluded Indian Premier League 2023 Match 43 at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium tonight.
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Although not directly, Kohli gave it back to Gambhir in style by blowing a kiss to the spectators instead of gesturing them to “keep shut”. For the unversed, Gambhir had signaled fans to keep shut after winning the first match of the season between these two teams at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium last month.
With Kohli executing a revenge-of-sorts, one didn’t expect another bout between the two eminent cricketing personalities belonging to Delhi. That being said, emotions were at their peak at the time of players shaking hands after an 18-run victory for Royal Challengers.
In what started with Super Giants pacer Naveen-ul-Haq (3/30 & 13) uttering something to Kohli to perhaps irk him, it soon escalated to a dozen of players, members of the support staff and match officials surrounding Kohli and Gambhir having a verbal go at each other.
While Indian match officials hardly made a serious attempt to make peace between the two, Lucknow captain KL Rahul (0*) and veteran spinner Amit Mishra (2/21 & 19) and veteran Bangalore batter Kedar Jadhav were spotted in their attempt to cool Kohli down. Two overseas cricketers in RCB captain Faf du Plessis (44) and LSG all-rounder Marcus Stoinis (0/11 & 13), meanwhile, saw the funny side of the episode with all their giggles.
Kohli eventually walked towards the other side but only after a brief unnecessary argument with Vijay Dahiya, former India wicket-keeper batter and assistant coach of the home team.
Kohli Fight With Gambhir Video
Heated argument between Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir after the match pic.twitter.com/g2iZDtyMjz
— All About Cricket (@allaboutcric_) May 1, 2023
Irrespective of who said what or who started it, two respected members of the Indian cricketing fraternity publicly losing respect for one another isn’t a sight you would want to see as a fan. What is even more saddening is the fact that this is not the first time when Kohli and Gambhir have indulged in an altercation. Interestingly, theirs is a decade-old rivalry in the IPL.