Fans excitedly chanted “Kohli, Kohli” when Naveen-ul-Haq entered the pitch to face Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the world renowned Eden Gardens, continuing the controversy surrounding the rivalry among Virat Kohli and Naveen-ul-Haq during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023. When LSG’s final league game versus KKR, this bitter rivalry involving the two players touched new levels, exciting the fans and inspiring a footage of the altercation to go popular on social media.
The dispute started after English batsman Jason Roy sent a torrent of boundaries at the Afghan bowler throughout his second over of the KKR innings. The stadium went into a state of excitement as the fans broke out in shouts of “Kohli, Kohli,” making it apparent that they were rooting for Kohli. The exhilarating scene was caught on camera by Mufaddal Vohra, who reposted it.
Naveen-ul-Haq placed his index finger into his lips and motioned for calm from the throng as a reaction to the loud chants. The Kolkata Knight Riders home fans didn’t let his attempt to calm the commotion stop them from chanting “Kohli” at the bowler.
It’s important to remember that this transaction is not unique in any way. Earlier, Lucknow Super Giants coach Gautam Gambhir made a comparable sign in a game at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Following the match at the Ekana Sports City Stadium, Virat Kohli retaliated to Gambhir’s behaviour, which sparked an argument between the two players and Naveen-ul-Haq.
Focusing on the actual game, the Kolkata Knight Riders demonstrated their superiority by delivering ferocious stints from Vaibhav Arora, Shardul Thakur, and Sunil Narine. In their IPL match at Eden Gardens, they worked together to limit the Lucknow Super Giants for just an overall score of 176/8.
The top scorer for LSG was Nicholas Pooran, who displayed his talent with a scorching 58-run innings off just 30 deliveries. Quinton de Kock added value with his 28 runs as well. Vaibhav, Shardul, and Narine all took two wickets for the Kolkata Knight Riders, whose bowlers were in excellent form. For KKR, choosing to bat first paid off as fast bowler Harshit Rana quickly removed LSG opener Karan Sharma in the third over.
In the seventh over, Vaibhav Arora added to the wicket-taking binge by quickly dismissing both the dangerous Marcus Stoinis and Prerak Mankad. Sunil Narine, an accomplished spinner, made matters worse for LSG by removing their captain, Krunal Pandya, for just 9 runs in the tenth over. Quinton de Kock was quickly dismissed by Varun Chakaravarthy following his well-earned 28 runs. Nicholas Pooran, though, stepped up to the plate and pounded Chakaravarthy for a string of boundaries and a soaring six in the 11th over, scoring 15 runs in a flash.
Pooran batted aggressively, unleashing hard strokes and controlling the scoreboard to keep his team in the game. Together with Ayush Badoni, he created a vital 50-run combination that gave the team much-needed solidity. Sunil Narine attained success.
