Virat Kohli isn’t the India captain anymore, but the 34-year-old hogs all the attention wherever he goes. And in the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which was played in Kohli’s home city in Delhi, the crowd was set to go berserk at every single sight of their local hero.
Such is the fandom and craze of Kohli, that even the Delhi crowd chanted “RCB RCB” to show their love for the RCB star.
However, recognizing that this is a game he’s playing for his country and not for his IPL franchise, while standing at first slip, Kohli quickly prompted the crowd to chant for India, by pointing to the INDIA written on his jersey.
The crowd got even louder by this terrific reaction from Virat Kohli and at the top of their voices started chanting “INDIA INDIA”
The video of this incident went viral on social media, with fans hailing the 34-year-old for his patriotism and his incredible fandom across the world.
Watch: Virat Kohli asks the crowd to chant “INDIA” and ditch “RCB”
Crowd was chanting 'RCB, RCB' – Virat Kohli told to stop it and chant 'India, India'. pic.twitter.com/kMd53wbYRU
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) February 20, 2023
On the return to his home ground, Virat Kohli couldn’t score a big knock. However, in what was a low-scoring game, played on a difficult pitch, Kohli played a terrific innings of 44 runs in India’s first innings after India had stumbled to 66/4 and formed a crucial partnership with Jadeja.
In the second innings, Kohli scored 20 runs in India’s chase of 115.
India won by 6 wickets in Delhi, sealing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a lead of 2-0 with 2 more Tests to go.
Ravindra Jadeja, who took a 7-wicket haul in Australia’s second innings, 3 wickets in the first innings, and was involved in a vital stand with Kohli, was named the Man of the Match. Jadeja and Ashwin ran through the Australian batting line-up on the morning of Day 3, bowling the visitors out for 113.
Chasing 115, India lost KL Rahul early, but Rohit Sharma played positively, scoring 31(20), before getting run out. Pujara, Kohli, Iyer, and KS Bharat ensured India went over the line.
The third Test will be played in Indore, from 1st March.
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli also had another tussle with Nitin Menon with the cricketer later confronting the umpire.
See the video here: http://thecricketlounge.com/angry-virat-kohli-scolds-nitin-menon/
Has India reached the WTC final?
A victory for India in Indore will seal their place in the WTC final.