CNN Central News & Network-ITDC India Epress / ITDC News Bhopal: There’s Virat Kohli in one corner. There’s Gautam Gambhir on the other. Do you even need anything else? Just in case you do, it’s an IPL match between the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and the Kolkata Knight Riders, a rivalry as famous for its on-field action as the ones away from it. Whether Gambhir-Kohli tussle has been the reason behind this rivalry or the other way around is a chicken-and-egg mystery that would be hard to decipher but one thing is for certain there is never a dull moment when KKR and RCB lock horns.
The added incentive is that Gambhir is back in the KKR dugout. It was not as if the two were walking on a bed of roses when Gambhir was not a part of the KKR set-up – Gambhir and Kohli nearly came to landing blows during last year’s IPL when the former was the mentor of the Lucknow Super Giants – but things are expected to be hotter when Gambhir donning the purple and gold.
After all, it was during an RCB vs KKR match at the Chinnaswamy way back in 2013 that the first public exchange between Gambhir and Kohli took place. After Kohli got out, Gambhir appeared to have said something to Kohli which did not go down well with the then RCB captain. He turned back and the duo came face-to-face for the first time on the cricket field. They had to be separated by Rajat Bhatia, a former KKR player.
Three years later, in another IPL match between RCB and KKR, Gambhir and Kohli had another heated exchange when the left-hander threw the ball towards the non-striker’s (Kohli’s) end when there was no chance of getting a run-out.
Fans and experts alike are expecting another heated face-off between the two big names of Indian cricket when the RCB host KKR for an IPL 2024 match in Chinnaswamy on Friday.
Speaking exclusively to Star Sports on Cricket Live, former India cricketer Varun Aaron spoke on how charged up Virat Kohli would be for the match against KKR, he said “I’m looking forward to the match up outside the boundary line. Gautam Gambhir is going to be at the boundary line right beside the RCB dugout, don’t know what’s going to happen there, I think, you know how Virat is, he likes to have some fire all the time, and if he just looks at the KKR dugout, he’s just going to be fired up.”
Aaron is someone who has seen this rivalry from close quarters. He was a part of the RCB squad between 2014 and 2016 and has been one of the two big Gambhir vs Kohli fights from the dugout.
Australia batter Steve Smith may not have seen it in front of his eyes but he is also aware of the rivalry. “Yeah, that’s a nice battle to look for. The rivalry is not going to be any different. I’m looking forward to it. Virat was outstanding last game, he showed some real ominous signs, and I’m looking forward to that contest,” he said.
