Virat Kohli and Naveen-ul-Haq (Twitter)
The altercation between former RCB skipper Virat Kohli and Naveen-ul-Haq of LGS made headlines after Bangalore’s victory over the Lucknow-based outfit and former Pakistani all-rounder Afridi defended Naveen after the episode
The game between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lucknow Super Giants offered some tantalizing moments in the current Indian Premier League season, but the one that grabbed the headlines was the altercation between former RCB skipper Virat Kohli and the Afghan player Naveen-ul-Haq.
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Following the incident, former Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi came to the defense of the 23-year-old bowler saying he only reacts when provoked unnecessarily.
“Naveen only reacts when someone bothers her unnecessarily. I saw him bowling a lot, he gets hammered too, but he never tried to fight anyone. I don’t remember if I’ve ever seen him that aggressive,” said the former Pakistani sniper.
He also shed light on the innate tendency of Pacers to be a bit feisty and pointed out that every team has its share of team mavericks.
“Every team has a certain ratio of aggressive players, so do we, and that’s normal. It happens. Fast bowlers are naturally like that,” added the 46-year-old.
BCCI did not enjoy the clash and slapped Kohli with a level 2 offense for breaking the IPL code of conduct and fined him 100% of his match fee, while Naveen received a fine of 50% of his match fee citing a level. 1 offence.
The Bengaluru-based side won the draw against LSG and opted to strike. Kholi and captain Faf du Plessis gave the Karnataka side a decent start by scoring a 62-point opener before LSG spinner Ravi Bishnoi scalped Kohli’s valuable wicket.
Kohli was dismissed for 31 runs on 30 balls, while du Plessis contributed to his team’s cause with a 40-ball, 44-run hit.
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As the wickets continued to drop in rapid intervals, none other than Dinesh Karthik joined Kohli and du Plessis in achieving the double-digit tally on the day when RCB ended their innings with 126 runs on the board.
Continuing the modest tally, LSG fell short as they were consolidated for just 108 races. Krishnappa Gowtham scored for the Lucknow unit with 23 runs, while Amit Mishra added 19 and Krunal Pandya contributed with 14. But, all their batting work went to waste as RCB won a victory by 18 points.
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