Virat Kohli Applauds Wriddhiman Saha To The Echo For 81 vs LSG at Narendra Modi Stadium

Former Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli clapped for Gujarat Titans wicket-keeper batter Wriddhiman Saha after the latter scored his 12th Indian Premier League half-century against Lucknow Super Giants at the Narendra Modi Stadium today.

Kohli, who himself scored a 50th IPL half-century against Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium last night, was appreciative of his Indian teammate. Readers must note that 43 out of Saha’s 49 matches for the national team have come with Kohli also in the Playing XI. Out of these 43, 39 have been with Kohli as a captain.

Saha, who ended up scoring 81 (43) with the help of 10 fours and four sixes at a strike rate of 188.37, outperformed opening partner Shubman Gill (94*) easily in a 73-ball 142-run opening stand after being asked to bat first by Lucknow captain Krunal Pandya (0/38).

Virat Kohli Applauds Wriddhiman Saha To The Echo

Kohli, 34, took to social media platform Instagram to applaud Saha to the echo. Kohli, who rarely uploads an Instagram story to express approval of a teammate or a rival, did make an exception for Saha. “What a player,” captioned Kohli in addition to using three clapping hands signs emojis in a post which also consisted of Saha’s photo.

 

Although his first boundary did come off an outside edge, Saha creamed a four between cover and mid-off on the next ball to showcase the gift of timing at his disposal. In the following Avesh Khan‘s (1/34) over, Saha hit a six and a four to further get going.

Pandya introducing himself into the attack as early as the third over saw him conceding a four off the 38-year old player. A lacklustre Mohsin Khan‘s (1/42) second over witnessed Saha hitting a couple of sixes and four each to become a source of amazement for the fans of the home team.

Saha’s fourth-highest individual score in the IPL played a key role in Gujarat scoring 227/2 in 20 overs.