Stalwart Indian batsman Virat Kohli won hearts both on and off the field when he gifted his bat to none other than Kolkata Knight Riders’ explosive batsman Rinku Singh. It was revealed on KKR’s official Instagram account, right after their 7-wicket win against Royal Challengers Bengaluru last night at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. That match gave many moments and the interaction between Kohli and Rinku was one more.
The draw between RCB and KKR, which was the 10th match of IPL 2024, was touted as the most exciting and heated clash this week. However, it did not turn out to be what we all expected and had expected for a long time. Fans were hoping to see another chapter added to the rivalry between Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir that began in 2013.
Last year, the duo got into this when Gambhir was mentoring the Lucknow Super Giants. After the initial flames ignited by Avesh Khan’s helmet throw at Chinnaswamy, things escalated when Naveen-Ul-Haq instigated Virat Kohli during the first leg in Lucknow. There, Gambhir and Kohli had an intense argument which later became the most viral moment of IPL 2023. But last night, they hugged, shook hands and smiled at each other, and after that, Kohli gifted his bat to Rinku Singh.
Virat Kohli shares his bat and hugs Rinku Singh
In the Instagram post shared by KKR, Virat Kohli can be seen saying something to Rinku Singh about the bat he was giving him. It was a carousel post that also had pictures of Rinku along with Kohli and Rohit Sharma during the T20I series they played together against Afghanistan in early January. The last slide had a photo of Rinku and Kohli together during the left-hand batsman’s first few seasons in the IPL. “The bond we love to see! 💜❤️,” KKR captioned the post.
Rinku Singh later uploaded that same post on her Instagram story with a caption that read, “Thanks for the advice bhaiya and also for the bat.”
So it was all friendship during the contest between KKR and RCB and it seemed like there was no room for hate, fights or anger. It was evident from the first strategic time-out of the match, when Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar were present in the box. Gautam Gambhir himself approached Kohli and possibly crushed all the meat between them.
Virat Kohli and RCB aim to win again against LSG
Meanwhile, after the 7-wicket defeat at the hands of KKR in front of home support that also ended the home advantage scenario in IPL, RCB will welcome LSG next. This particular tie made headlines last year, all because of the argument between Virat Kohli and Naveen-Ul-Haq-Gautam Gambhir. The south Indian franchise is ahead of Lucknow in the head-to-head statistics with RCB winning three times and LSG winning just once. The match will take place on April 2.