The Indian fans got to see a very rare sight as Virat Kohli came up to bowl 3 balls during the IND vs BAN match, completing the over that was left half-done due to Hardik Pandya’s injury.
India took on Bangladesh on Thursday for their group-stage encounter at the MCA Stadium in Pune where Hardik Pandya sustained an ankle injury and had to leave the field after bowling 3 balls in his first over.
Pandya was trying to stop a straight drive shot with his foot but seems to have overstretched his leg and sustained an ankle injury. He then walked off the field hobbling.
Captain Rohit Sharma then asked Virat Kohli to roll his arm over for a short 3-ball spell to complete Pandya’s over. Virat Kohli hadn’t bowled in ODIs for 6 years – he last bowled in an ODI match back in 2017 and had surprisingly shunned down his bowling completely.
There was a huge roar from the crowd as they saw Virat Kohli being given the ball.
Kohli, with his unusual action, bowled three balls to the Bangladeshi opening pair of Litton Das and Tanzid Hasan and gave away only two singles. The fans cheered loudly at each of Kohli’s three deliveries that he bowled to Das and Hasan. He walked off with a smile after collecting his hat.
Kohli bowling even just 3 balls became a piece of headlining news on the internet and it broke Twitter as fans came up with different kinds of reactions.
Here are some funny memes and tweets on Virat Kohli bowling in ODIs after 6 years:
Bangladesh interim skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto had won the toss and elected to field first in Pune against India.
Teams:
Bangladesh (Playing XI): Litton Das, Tanzid Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto(c), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim(w), Mahmudullah, Nasum Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
