Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir were seemingly involved in a war of words after Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Lucknow Super Giants by 18 runs at the Ekana Cricket Stadium on Monday.Virat Kohli was fired up for RCB in a low-scoring match against LSG. He had scored 31 in a strong opening partnership with Faf du Plessis and then took a couple of sharp catches as his side defended a modest 126.
Shortly after the match, Virat Kohli and LSG mentor Gautam Gambhir were seen in the middle of a heated exchange. The two had to be separated by Amit Mishra, RCB captain Faf du Plessis and LSG assistant coach Vijay Dahiya. After the altercation, Kohli was also spotted talking to LSG captain KL Rahul, perhaps explaining to him what happened. The spark seemed to have been lit in the 17th over of LSG’s chase when Kohli and Naveen-Ul-Haq exchanged a few words after a minor argument between the former India skipper and LSG’s former India leg-spinner Amit Mishra. The umpire intervened to defuse the situation. Now as per a Hindustan Times report, the Sanjeev Goenka owned team has sprung into immediate action after the incident. The management held a meeting with players and officials involved.
“It was simply an ego clash between the two greats of Indian cricket. There was nothing serious. It was just a heat-of-the-moment thing. It happens in such a high-tension game,” said an LSG official preferring anonymity.“There was no bad blood after the presentation,” the official said. “The LSG bosses did hold a meeting of the players and officials at the ground after the match.
Virat Kohli expressed his gratitude to all the RCB fans who had an upper hand in the Stadium during the match which also played a role in motivating the players to give their best in a crucial match.He stated, "The win was great and the fact that we got more support than the home crowd is an unbelievable feeling, it tells you all about how much we are liked as a team and how people come out and back us."RCB will now play their next match on Saturday in New Delhi and will look to continue the momentum and strengthen their position for the playoff race of IPL 2023.
