Almost three weeks after Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir buried the ghosts of the ugly clash in IPL 2023 with an internet-breaking high during the match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, the two former India teammates, who were both part of the 2011 World Cup-winning squad, were spotted having an animated chat at the Eden Gardens ahead of KKR's home game against the three-time finalist.
On May 29, when RCB had hosted KKR, Kohli notched up a sensational knock at home, scoring an unbeaten 83 off 59 amid a lack of support from the Bengaluru middle-order. En route to the knock, during a time-out before the start of the slog overs, Gambhir, who joined KKR as their new mentor before the start of IPL 2024, stepped on the field to have a word with the bowlers, but before meeting his players, he shared a warm hug with Kohli, had a short chat and also exchanged smiles before the former India cricketer joined his team.
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The sensational moment sparked a furore on social media, given that exactly a year back, the two had an ugly spat over a match situation during the game between RCB and Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Stadium, leaving the cricket world in quite a shock.
{{/usCountry}}The sensational moment sparked a furore on social media, given that exactly a year back, the two had an ugly spat over a match situation during the game between RCB and Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Stadium, leaving the cricket world in quite a shock.
{{/usCountry}}Three weeks after the headline-grabbing hug in Bengaluru, Kohli and Gambhir caught up on the sidelines of the preparation for the second leg of the contest between KKR and RCB, at the Eden Gardens. Kohli, who did most of the talking, was seen having an animated chat with the former India opener as the latter listened. The viral moment was shared by Kolkata Knight Riders on their social media page.
RCB, who has had a tournament to forget so far, will not only look to deny KKR a double over them this season, but also hope to keep themselves alive in the race to the playoffs. Their seven-wicket loss at the Chinnaswamy against the two-time IPL winners was among their six defeats in the opening seven games this season. Their only win came at home against Punjab Kings almost a month back.
For RCB to make the playoffs, they will need to win all their remaining seven matches in the tournament, which will begin with a win at the Eden Gardens.