Virat Kohli and Mohammed Siraj's gesture for Rishabh Pant, Shimron Hetmyer after RCB's 1-run win, goes viral on Twitter
Virat Kohli and Mohammed Siraj's gesture towards Rishabh Pant and Shimron Hetmyer after RCB beat DC by just 1 run an IPL 2021 match in Ahmedabad, went viral on Twitter. Here is how Twitter reacted to the bonhomie between RCB and DC players.
Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli and pacer Mohammed Siraj’s gesture towards Delhi Capitals batsmen Rishabh Pant and Shimron Hetmyer after RCB’s narrow 1-run win in IPL 2021 match No. 22 in Ahmedabad, proved why cricket is referred to as a gentleman’s game. Despite a nail-biting contest which finished in the last ball in favour of RCB, players from both sides were seen hugging and congratulating each other almost immediately after the match.
DC needed 14 runs off the last over with a well-set Pant and Hetmyer in the middle but they were up against Siraj, who has improved leaps and bounces as a T20 bowler. Siraj’s first four deliveries sealed RCB’s fate, in which he gave away only 4 runs. Pant did hit two boundaries off the final two balls but that was not enough.
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Both Pant and Hetmyer were dejected after failing to take DC over the line despite staying unbeaten and that is when RCB captain Virat Kohli walked up to Pant, patted him on the back and tapped him on the head just like a senior pro.
Kohli’s job was not done yet. He and Glenn Maxwell walked up to Hetmyer, who was on his knees at the non-striker’s end and congratulated him for playing a blistering 53 off 23 balls.
Siraj, the bowler who defended 13 runs in the last over, was seen giving a warm hug to Hetmyer as the players were walking off the field.
The bonhomie between RCB and DC players continued. Kohli was seen having a wholehearted laugh with Pant before the post-match presentation even as Siraj and Avesh Khan joined in. The video was later shared on IPL’s Twitter handle.
Also Read | Pant reveals discussion with Hetmyer in final over after DC lost by 1 run to RCB
The official Twitter handles of both RCB and DC echoed the sentiments on the field and agreed that cricket was the winner in Tuesday’s contest.
Here is how Twitter reacted to Kohli and Siraj's gesture for Pant and Hetmyer
Batting first, RCB put on a challenging 171/5 thanks to a blistering 75* off 42 balls from AB de Villiers. In reply DC captain Rishabh Pant hit 58 off 48 while Hetmyer played a gem of an innings but DC fell short by 1 run. Harshal Patel picked up a couple of wickets for RCB.
“At one stage I thought it was getting away, but Siraj's final over gave us confidence and we thought he would manage a professional and clinical job. If there weren't fielding lapses it wasn't going to go this far anyway. We lost wickets but AB went berserk and then in the last few overs while bowling Hetmyer got hold of a few, otherwise we were in control,” said Kohli after RCB’s win.
“Obviously feeling disappointed, especially when you are on the losing side. They got 10-15 runs extra on this wicket. Hetty (Hetmyer) played a brilliant innings, because of him we got close to the target. In the last over, we were thinking whoever gets the ball has to finish the job for the team. That's what we were planning, in the end, we were one run short,” said Pant.
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