“Best script by Jay Shah”- Virat Kohli hugging ‘rival’ Gautam Gambhir mid-match sparks WILD reaction from cricket fans on social media

The KKR mentor walked up to Virat Kohli, and then they shook hands and hugged each other.

“Best script by Jay Shah”- Virat Kohli hugging ‘rival’ Gautam Gambhir mid-match sparks WILD reaction from cricket fans on social media

Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir hugged each other (Images via X)

Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli have had one of the longest standing rivalries in the IPL. Ever since they clashed in the 2013 IPL, the two have had cold relations and very rarely are seen together. 

Many fans expected the two would once again clash during Kolkata Knight Riders’s (KKR) match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on 29th March, 2024. The two had fought in the previous season and fans kept waiting to see the two fight. Unfortunately they were given the shocks of their lives. 

YouTube video

During the strategic time-out after the 16th over, Gautam Gambhir stepped on the field. The KKR mentor walked up to Virat Kohli, and then they shook hands and hugged each other. They had a short chat, in which both were all smiles, which meant the two had buried the hatchet. 

Fans unhappy with patch-up between Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli 

When the video of Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli meeting each other went viral, it disappointed many fans. They wanted to see the rift between Kohli and Gambhir continue. 

Virat Kohli Gautam Gambhir
Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir in the 2023 IPL (Image via ESPN)

Check out their reactions: 

https://twitter.com/nalesh_soni/status/1773730572025901215?s=20
https://twitter.com/AcademyBavuma/status/1773730493160419564?s=20

Batting first, RCB scored 182 in their first innings. Opener Virat Kohli scored 83 off 59, and was supported by Cameron Green, Glenn Maxwell and Dinesh Karthik. Harshit Rana and Andre Russell picked up two wickets each.

KKR chased the score with ease, as they took only 16.5 overs to chase the score down. Openers Sunil Narine and Phil Salt stitched an 86-run partnership, taking only 21 balls to score 50.

The next two batters, Venkatesh Iyer and Shreyas Iyer, slammed 50 and 39 respectively to win the match. The RCB bowlers had a bad day, as three of their frontline pacer had economy rates of over 11. 

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