Gujarat Titans spearhead seamer Mohammed Shami has had a brilliant time with the ball in the IPL 2022, however, he had an off day on Saturday against the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
While he has been superb with his good and back of lengths with the new ball till then, Shami started his spell today with half volleys to RCB opener Virat Kohli and was taken for boundaries in both his overs in the powerplay before Glenn Maxwell took him down for a couple of sixes in the death overs.
However, Mohammed Shami earned the praise of the fans after he congratulated Virat Kohli for his half-century – Kohli’s first this season and a signal of a return to form.
In the 13th over of RCB’s innings, bowled by Shami, Kohli nudged a single down the ground to notch up his first fifty of the season, ending his torrid rut in recent games. After Kohli had completed his run and celebrated with a bat raise to the crowd and the RCB dressing room, Shami tapped on Kohli’s shoulder to congratulate him and both exchanged pleasantries.
Fans loved this gesture by the senior India bowler to acknowledge Kohli’s knock despite himself having a bad day. Shami did, however, got the big wicket of Kohli in his next over as he bowled the RCB opener.
Netizens also recalled how Kohli had stood up for Shami when the pacer was heavily trolled and targetted for his religion last year following the loss to Pakistan at the T20 World Cup. Now, fans were delighted to see Shami’s warm gesture towards his former India skipper.
Here’s the video and the reactions to it:
A touch of class from Mohammad Shami as he applauds Virat Kohli for his hard-fought half-century
. #GTvRCB #TATAIPL #IPL2022 pic.twitter.com/q0zahy1GhQ
— Atta Bʌɭocʜ (@Atta_Baloch7) April 30, 2022
. What a lovely moment there. The bowler – Shami- patting the batsman -Kohli- on the back after his 50. He’s a man who’s earned respect over the years. A cricketer to admire for many reasons #GTvRCB #IPL2022 #ViratKohli
— Hemant (@hemantbuch) April 30, 2022
Shami patted Virat Kohli and told him something after he reached his 50
— India Fantasy (@india_fantasy) April 30, 2022
No matter which franchise we support. We are all Shami today! Well done Kohli, irrespective of the result we needed this from you and hopefully from Rohit tonight. #RCBvsGT pic.twitter.com/hGreCPC9yG
— sports4lyf (@FootyIka) April 30, 2022
Picture of the day.
King #Kohli is back..
shami acknowledging #ViratKohli#Kohli #Rcb #GTvRCB pic.twitter.com/mNqBv4nVQO— Ankesh Dubey
(@iAnkeshdubey) HOW BEAUTIFUL WAS THIS MOMENT BETWEEN MOHAMMAD SHAMI AND VIRAT KOHLI. Their Camaraderie!
— Jonah Abraham
(@JonahAbraham26) Meanwhile, Virat Kohli and his fans will be satisfied that the RCB talisman batters – who had scores of 1, 12, 0, 0, 9 – in the last five games, managed to see off the powerplay and score a fifty. His 58 off 53 laid a platform for the likes of Maxwell and Lomror to take RCB to 170.
Also Read: Australian Journalist Posted A Heart-Winning Tweet For Virat Kohli
