Gautam Gambhir Gracefully Hugs Virat Kohli, Lauds RCB's 'Phenomenal Display of Character' in Mammoth Chase

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) looked to end their losing streak in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 when they squared off against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Sunday at Eden Gardens. The visitors fought hammer and tongs in the chase of 223 which saw a controversy erupting around Virat Kohli’s dismissal and then, Will Jacks and Rajat Patidar stitching a game-changing partnership. Tail-ender Karn Sharma tried guiding the RCB to a much-needed win but alas, he failed in his courageous attempt and Bengaluru lost the game by just 1 run.

The fight put up by Bengaluru was commended by their opposition as well. Former KKR captain and mentor Gautam Gambhir took to microblogging site X to laud RCB’s efforts in the mammoth chase.

“Phenomenal display of character by RCB today,” Gambhir wrote.

The Royal Challengers took note of Gambhir’s post in reply, and shared a picture in which the former Indian cricketer could be seen hugging and sharing a smile with Virat Kohli after the game. The picture has gone viral on social media with over 764k likes on Instagram.

The two stalwarts of Indian cricket meeting each other gracefully sent the netizens into a frenzy. Just a year ago, in IPL 2023, Kohli and Gambhir were involved in an ugly verbal following the fixture between Lucknow Super Giants and RCB at Ekana Stadium. The argument between them heated up so much that other players had to intervene and separate them. In the aftermath of the incident, both Kohli and Gambhir (who was the LSG mentor then) were fined heavily by the IPL governing council.

However, the duo seemed to bury the hatchet this season as they met a day before the KKR vs RCB game at the Enden Gardens, on Saturday. Kohli and Gambhir were seen exchanging a few words during the net session.

KKR moves to 2^nd, RCB 10^th

The 1-run win took KKR to the second spot on the points table, displacing the Sunrisers Hyderabad, with 10 points and a better Net Run Rate of +1.206. On the other hand, RCB continue to be in the 10^th position with 7 defeats so far this season.