(Video) Virat Kohli’s soft gesture after win over Delhi Capitals is testament of how misunderstood he is

After a close IPL victory, Royal Challengers Bengaluru star Virat Kohli playfully teased Delhi Capitals' KL Rahul about his 'my ground' celebration.

(Video) Virat Kohli’s soft gesture after win over Delhi Capitals is testament of how misunderstood he is

Virat Kohli and KL Rahul shared a light-hearted moment, after the match between RCB and DC. (Image via BCCI/X)

Indian national team star and Royal Challengers Bengaluru opener Virat Kohli shared a light-hearted moment with Delhi Capitals’ players on April 27, after beating them in a tense IPL 2025 encounter. Kohli was spotted taking a cheeky dig at DC’s KL Rahul after the match, over his ‘my ground’ celebration.

RCB secured their way to the top of the IPL standings, with a dominating six wicket victory over DC at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Batting first, the home side posted a total 162 runs for the loss of eight wickets.

In response, RCB chased down the target in 18.3 overs. Virat Kohli struck a 45-ball half-century, while Krunal Pandya was the top-scorer for the visitors with an unbeaten knock of 73 runs, off 47 balls. 

After the match, Kohli was seen talking to some of the DC players, including India teammate KL Rahul. The two players, who once played together at RCB, shared a light-hearted banter, post-match. They laughed together, while recalling Rahul’s must talked about celebration of thumping his bat to the ground and making a circle around it to assert his authority, after scoring a match-winning knock of 93 runs.

While KL Rahul’s gesture did fuel rivalry between the fans of the two IPL sides, the attitude of players, however, remained unaffected. Following their recent match-up, Kohli was spotted cheekily mimicking Rahul’s ‘my ground’ gesture. The 36-year-old even noted that he had indeed thought of performing a similar celebration in front of KL Rahul after having finished off the match.

Responding to Kohli, the wicket-keeper batter added that he was thankful to his DC teammates for having dismissed Kohli in the 18th over, which disallowed him from recreating the celebration. Kohli, laughing along, admitted that all the banter was in good spirits, and added that he had hoped to hug Rahul after performing the ‘my ground’ celebration.

Moreover, it underlined the humorous and composed side of the 36-year-old star, who has been criticized for his aggressive and competitive attitude, both on and off the pitch. It also cleared the air surrounding the heated exchange that the two players had on the pitch during RCB’s chase. Kohli exchanged sharp words with Rahul, after being left seemingly agitated at the DC’s slow fielding changing.

Nonetheless, the two teams will now be looking forward to securing a place in the 2025 IPL play-offs, after a great run of form. RCB are currently on top, with 14 points from ten matches, while DC are placed 4th, with 12 points from 10 matches. Virat Kohli’s RCB next face arch-rivals CSK, on 3rd May. 

Virender Sehwag reveals why Virat Kohli was not picked by Delhi Daredevils at the inaugural IPL draft

Virat Kohli remains one of the greatest batters to play in the IPL. A legend at Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Kohli was, however, not picked up at the 2008 IPL under-19 players draft by Delhi Daredevils, a decision that tuned out to be a massive blunder. 

Virat Kohli DD Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag revealed the reason behind Delhi Daredevils’ decision to not sign Virat Kohli in 2008. (via DNA India)

Delhi Daredevils had picked left-arm seamer Pradeep Sangwan over Kohli, despite getting the opportunity to sign a player from the under-19 draft first. Virender Sehwag recently revealed the reason behind the team’s decision. He noted that DD already had an abundance of top-order batters, including himself, Gautam Gambhir, Shikhar Dhawan, AB de Villiers and Tillakaratne Dilshan, and did not want any more.

We had enough batters in our team. I was there along with Gautam Gambhir, Shikhar Dhawan, (Tillakaratne) Dilshan. There was an abundance of openers and top-order batters. AB de Villiers was also part of the side.

Virender Sehwag on DD’s decision (H/T: First Post)

Nonetheless, Delhi’s blunder helped RCB pick up Kohli for $50 thousand. The rest is history, with Kohli having made 277 appearances for RCB over the past 17 seasons. He also remains the competition’s highest run-getter, with 8447 runs at an average of 39.47 and a strike-rate of 132.31.