Former India captain Virat Kohli (54) and Australia all-rounder Marcus Stoinis participated in an aggressive shoulder bump with one another during the third of a three-match ODI series currently being played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
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It all happened after the third delivery of the 21st over when Stoinis was returning after bowling a dot ball to India wicket-keeper batter KL Rahul (32). Kohli, who was walking towards the batter to perhaps speak to Rahul or just tap on the pitch, came in Stoinis’ way.
With neither of the two giving way to each other, what followed was a proper hostile collision. Having said that, both Kohli and Stoinis went about their thing without uttering even a word following the collision.
Virat Kohli and Marcus Stoinis Bump Into One Another Intentionally at MA Chidambaram Stadium
— ً (@scricshotbackup) March 22, 2023
It is worth mentioning that bumping into one another consisted of nothing untoward on part of both the cricketers. For the unversed, both Kohli and Stoinis share a cordial bond with one another since the time of the latter playing under the former at Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League.
Marcus Stoinis RCB career
Having made his IPL debut for Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in 2016, Stoinis had represented them in the following season as well. With him going into the auction ahead of IPL 2018, Punjab and Bangalore were part of a bidding war for him before the former acquired his services for INR 6.6 crore for the 11th season of the IPL.
Not wanting to let him go even after losing him in the auction, RCB had traded Stoinis for India batter Mandeep Singh ahead of IPL 2019. As a result, a viral photo involving Kohli and Stoinis from India’s tour of Australia 2018-19 had inspired ICC (International Cricket Council) to initiate a caption contest on social media platform Twitter.
Excited about playing alongside the likes of Kohli and AB de Villiers at Royal Challengers, Stoinis represented the franchise for a solitary season scoring 211 runs across 10 innings at an average of 52.75 and a strike rate of 135.25. Stoinis’ two wickets across six innings had come at an economy and strike rate of 8.70 and 50 respectively.
