Virat Kohli had a friendly reaction to Ishant Sharma’s sending off on Sunday.
Having been teammates in international cricket, Ishant Sharma showcased his friendship with Virat Kohli in a funny way during Delhi Capitals’ IPL 2024 fixture against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Sunday. Facing Kohli in the fourth over of the first innings, Ishant sent a short delivery, which got an outside edge off the RCB batter, and flew to the wicketkeeper for a catch!
Ishant Sharma removed Virat Kohli on Sunday.
Kohli departed for 27 off 13 balls and the DC pacer walked up to him and pushed him with his body. Kohli also smiled in reaction, as Ishant celebrated the wicket.
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Here is the video:
Rajat Patidar top-scored for RCB in the innings, with a knock of 52 runs off 32 balls, taking RCB to 187/9 in 20 overs. DC have been set a target of 188 runs.
Kohli has been in sensational form this season. Prior to IPL 2024, there were question marks over his selection for the T20 World Cup. But the veteran has silenced his critics in style and is leading in the Orange Cap race. In 13 matches, he has smacked 643 runs, at a strike rate of 153.82. During this season, he has also registered a ton and five fifties.
Speaking ahead of the match, Kohli had also opened up on his playing approach this season. He said, “For me, it’s still quality over quantity. More so now, at this stage of my career, heading into 36. The understanding of my game over so many years allows me to practice less, and still stay mentally switched on. And some added challenges in terms of improving your own game. Certain aspects of the game, you want to get better at. It’s an ever-evolving process. I am not a guy who wants to sit around saying ‘this is the way I play’ and not improve on the things I need to.”
Commenting about his slog sweep shot against spinners, he said, “I brought out the slog-sweep to the spinners. It was me mentally putting myself in that situation. I did not practice that at all. I know I can hit it because I have played that shot a lot in the past. So I just felt like I needed to take a bit more risk and for me, that shot was something that I used to hit regularly back in the days. That shot is now allowing me to hit off the backfoot as well. I am always looking to expose that side of the field against the spin. It’s been a massive factor for me in the IPL.”
