A sweet celebration has turned sour in between Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir after Royal Challengers Bangalore won a low-scoring clash against Lucknow Super Giants by 18 runs in the Indian Premier League Season 16 in Lucknow. “That’s a sweet win boys! sweet win, Let’s Go!” he screamed in ecstasy after the win. But the seeds for the clash was set even before the final ball was bowled as Kohli and Afghanistan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq happened a few overs before the end to spark the fire that was to follow. Kohli’s gesture left Naveen incensed and again got into a verbal spat during the customary handshake at the end of the match.

Gambhir got into the act after that and pulled away Kyle Mayers, who was talking to Kohli, away. Then the verbal duel started and players of both teams had to intervene and separate the two. The Board of Control for Cricket in India fined all three players for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct. Gambhir and Kohli were fined 100 per cent of their match fee for Level 2 offence under Article 2.21 of the IPL Code of Conduct while Naveen was fined 50 per cent of the match fees for Level 1 offence.

Players were seen dancing with joy and singing the RCB team song as the team got closer to the playoff spot with 10 points from nine matches. A video grab of Kohli shaking hands with Naveen at the end of the match, which proved the trigger for his spat between Kohli and Gambhir.  “It was a really important win on the road. It’s a very sweet win for many reasons, most importantly for the kind of character we showed defending that total. I think everyone had the belief that we can do it and we ended up on the winning side which is really great,” Kohli said.

Kohli expressed his gratitude to all the RCB fans who had an upper hand in the Stadium during the match, which also played a role in motivating the players to give their best in a crucial match that brought both teams level on points. “The win was great and the fact that we got more support than the home crowd is an unbelievable feeling, it tells you all about how much we are liked as a team and how people come out and back us.”

Gambhir and Kohli has had numerous spats in the past, the first happened in 2013 again during a match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore. Similar to the Monday’s incident they had heated exchanges before the teammates separated the two.In 2016 at Eden Gardens, a frustrated Gambhir threw the ball towards Kohli, who had completed a run when guiding RCB to a nine-wicket win. Again the move led to the altercation before others intervened to *** the issue. When there were signs of easing tensions when Gambhir said in an interview that he never took it personally and said both him and Kohli were competitive on the field, one expected an end to the sordid sage. However, the Monday’s incident only has suggested that the new sequel is beginning.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP