Gambhir charges at Kohli, comes face-to-face after pushing Rahul; ugly scenes post LSG vs RCB IPL match

The cynosure of the IPL 2023 match at the Ekana Stadium on Monday was Gautam Gambhir versus Virat Kohli.

Why? Their rivalry is known to all, one which had started in this very IPL tournament years back in 2013 during a Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders match. Last month, when Royal Challengers Bangalore had hosted Lucknow Super Giants at the Chinnaswamy stadium, Gambhir had broken into a crazy celebration before having an intense handshake with Kohli after LSG’s win. The former India opener and the current LSG mentor also shushed the crowd with a finger on his lips.

On Monday, Kohli gave it back in style but with a “boss-like” twist. The story however didn’t end there. After RCB’s 18-run win, Kohli and Gambhir engaged in an ugly spat before the teammates came and interfered.

The episode started in the fourth over of Lucknow’s chase when Glenn Maxwell came into the attack against stand-in skipper Krunal Pandya. Maxwell bowled it wide and took the pace off it as Krunal charged out to go for the big one over long off, but was found by Kohli, who comfortably grabbed the catch to send back the batter for 14 off 11.

And how did Kohli celebrate RCB’s second wicket? He blew a flying kiss at the crowd, patted his chest and then recreated Gambhir’s celebration with a twist. He put his finger on the lips and then signalled the crowd not to keep quiet and keep cheering. The celebration was a tad bit different from the LSG coach who had in fact signalled the Chinnaswamy crowd to keep quiet with the same ‘finger on the lips’ gesture.

Despite a modest total of 126 for nine on a track where batting seemed a tad too difficult, RCB managed to defend it, keeping LSG 18 runs short. Naveen-ul-Haq was the pick of the bowlers for LSG along with the spin twin of Ravi Bishnoi and Amit Mishra while Kohli (31) and Faf du Plessis (44) were the top scorer for RCB. In reply, the visitors struck early with the new ball, sending LSG four down in the powerplay for jusy 27 runs before the remaining line-up crumbled in no time. Injured KL Rahul had walked in at No.11, but failed to make a difference for the team as he couldn’t run with the hamstring pull.

After the match, a furious Gambhir had an aggressive handshake with Kohli before Kyle Mayers walked towards the former RCB skipper to have a chat but Gambhir interrupted and took him away. The LSG mentor then hurled a mouthful at Kohli, drawing the RCB star into a heated exchange. From the video footage that has gone viral, it does appear that Gambhir was the one trying to charge at Kohli even as LSG players, including captain KL Rahul tried to stop him multiple times.

Rahul did manage to keep Gambhir away but taking him aside, but not for long. In the presence of both team members, Gambhir and Kohli had an ugly spat.

In the end, it was Kohli’s India teammate Rahul who calmed him down after having a long chat with him over the Gambhir episode, which was preceded by another row involving Virat, Naveen and Amit Mishra during the match.