Ahead of the high intensity Indian Premier League 2024 match on March 29 between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium, social media is abuzz with the possibility of face-off between Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir.
To further fuel the conversation, KKR posted an image, taken on March 28, on the X platform where it's looking as if Kohli is giving extra attention to the mentor of KKR.
“Cricket images that hit hard,” the Kolkata team’s post read.
“I’m looking forward to the match up outside the boundary line. Gautam Gambhir is going to be at the boundary line right beside the RCB dugout, don’t know what’s going to happen there. You know how Virat is, he likes to have some fire all the time, and if he just looks at the KKR dugout, he’s just going to be fired up,” India and former Jharkhand pacer Varun Aaron said while speaking on Star Sports.
The banter between the fans of the two teams continued on X.
An X user said, “This is the 6th tweet from the KKR handle regarding today's match. Stop trying to force a rivalry with RCB, we don't care about minnows.”
Another X user said, “I want to see King Kohli and Gambhir eat chole bhature after the post match. Delhi boys come on.”
“Gautam Gambhir Baaap of Virat Kohli,” wrote a Gambhir fan on X.
Kohli and Gambhir have a long history of clashes. It first happened in IPL in 2013 when the duo exchanged words over the former RCB captain's dismissal. Kohli was returning back to the pavilion when a heated argument took place between them before others intervened to douse the fire. They had another tussle in 2015 in Bengaluru again during an IPL clash. The relations soured further after Gambhir made several remarks about Kohli, calling Kohli ‘not a shrewd captain’.
Another flashpoint again came in Bengaluru last year after Lucknow Super Giants defeated Kohli’s team by a single run. This time Gambhir, who was the mentor of the Lucknow team at the time, provoked the home fans by putting a ‘finger on his lips’.
In the return fixture in Lucknow, Kohli returned the gesture after defeating the local team by 18 runs. Later, an on-field fight with LSG pacer Naveen-ul-Haq dragged past the game. LSG’s Kyle Mayers approached Kohli for a discussion when Gambhir intervened and dragged Mayers away from Kohli. A heated exchange followed between the players which was later controlled by other players.
RCB have so far played two matches out of which it managed to win one. KKR, on the other hand, have played one match so far and won it by scraping past SRH.
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