India’s star batter Virat Kohli and the Board of Cricket Control in India’s (BCCI) former president Sourav Ganguly have reportedly had differences with each other in the past. The flames between the two were re-ignited in a match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, where Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) faced Delhi Capitals (DC) and registered a convincing 23-run win over them. Notably, Kohli is representing RCB in the league, while Ganguly is the Director of Cricket of the Delhi-based franchise.
Asked to bat first, RCB posted a total of 174 runs for the loss of six wickets in their allotted 20 overs. Kohli top-scored for his team with a well-made half-century, scoring 50 runs off just 34 balls. It is noteworthy that it was the former India captain’s third fifty in the tournament, and he celebrated it in an aggressive style.
In response, DC struggled to get going with the bat and managed to score only 151 runs for the loss of nine wickets in their 20 overs. Manish Pandey scored 50 runs off 38 balls for his team, but he didn’t get much support from the other batters and eventually ended up on the losing side.
During the Delhi innings, Kohli was spotted giving a death stare to Ganguly in the DC dugout following a catch of Aman Hakim Khan that he took at long-on in the 18th over. Later, both Kohli and Ganguly were also captured ignoring each other and not shaking hands after the match.
The fans were quick to take notice of the event and flooded social media with their reactions on the incident. While few termed it ‘Karma’ and went on to praise Kohli for his befitting reply to Dada, many sided with Ganguly and came out in his support.
Here’s how fans reacted:
Virat Kohli and Sourav Ganguly today pic.twitter.com/48w5EN6GSi
— PrinCe (@Prince8bx) April 15, 2023
Felt good by seeing Sourav Ganguly tensed and Virat celebriting the victory in front of him.#RCBvDC pic.twitter.com/y8ZhAOmqKC
— SHOUNAK 🇮🇳 (@Shounak_72_) April 15, 2023
Virat Kohli Aggression Against Saurav Ganguly. I prays for time like this, Karma is real ♥️ #RCBvsDC | #ViratKohli pic.twitter.com/wacD1w7Ga3
— KT (@KohliMyHeart) April 16, 2023
The inner satisfaction of watching him roar infront of Ganguly 🔥.
We all Prayed for this. pic.twitter.com/bBZomnUiqL— Yashvi. (@BreatheKohli) April 15, 2023
We R With U #DADA..
Once A Gangulian Always a Gangulian.#WELOVEYOUDADA#SouravGanguly #Dada#Ganguly pic.twitter.com/76z5TgEMUc— Pambi Praveen Kumar (@PraveenPKBRS) April 16, 2023
Continue yours 👇#Virat #Dada #ViratKohli𓃵 #Ganguly pic.twitter.com/S1pBvuFlzJ
— Mallu_Ganju (@CricCraxyJohnz) April 16, 2023
Dear Dada,
stop being too nice
We dnt want you to talk good abt someone who disrespects you as v know u dnt want to talk bad about that person. i rly hope u skip the question next time u r asked
Your legacy cannot be tarnished by one man n his fans. we r right behind you #ganguly pic.twitter.com/yRBMIarncC— Saurabh Desai (@sau_desai) April 15, 2023
The legacy of Sourav Ganguly is far greater than one cricket player and his fanboys…
They will hurl abuses , they will attack you,
But we will stand by you Dada..
15 years after his retirement you still have ppl protecting your legacy and that's beautiful ❤️#WELOVEYOUDADA pic.twitter.com/nex2mNH7Ud— Saurabh Desai (@sau_desai) April 16, 2023
Aggressive Virat Kohli replying Sourav Ganguly back right on his face with the bat 🔥 pic.twitter.com/zb7b3fgxdc
— Pari (@BluntIndianGal) April 15, 2023
Virat Kohli stares at Sourav Ganguly. Moment of the Match. King Kohliiiii
🪭😅#kingKohli #ViratKohli #RCBvDC #RCB pic.twitter.com/hcPcVHbpJz
— HarshithD̸ҒᎪΝ/𝙆𝙖𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙖 (@HarshithDfan) April 15, 2023
https://twitter.com/king_Virat140/status/1647228181772902400
Nursery kids Might Like Virat's Child Like Aggression Against Seniors But Not The Man Who Introduced Aggression To Indian Cricket – Sourav Ganguly !!
Ganguly Clearly Ignored Virat Kohli !!https://t.co/llCbEJrPZL
— Analyst (@BoAnalyst) April 15, 2023
https://twitter.com/pLastHuman/status/1647240704769540097
https://twitter.com/chopa_king/status/1647261154891423746
Dada walked with the team to shake hands and was approaching at normal pace, Virat after seeing Dada behind Ponting started walking briskly in another direction. Nobody is bigger than the game and only time will tell if Virat learns this 😊#LoveyouDada pic.twitter.com/Ic7q4G0Xfl
— SouravGangulyCo (@SouravGangulyCo) April 15, 2023
Saurav Ganguly Has more Fans Then Virat Kohli Just Difference is They are well Settled and Enjoying there life and Virat Fans Crying over Internet
My player is great of All time 👍Pees😁 pic.twitter.com/gL6u7xpnlG
— Its_Ups💙 (@lets_go45) April 16, 2023
Virat Kohli showing levels to Saurav Ganguly team 🔥🤣
Karma is violence pic.twitter.com/nnK235PFmH
— Shauryx (@Kohli_Devotee) April 15, 2023
https://twitter.com/Kohlisthetic/status/1647239759092150276
If Virat is aggressive,then Sourav Ganguly is double aggressive.
Don't forget Sourav Ganguly was the 1st cricketer who brought aggression in the Indian Cricket.#ViratKohli #SouravGanguly
— ®️ohit☄Su®️ya Fanclub India (@RO_SKY_FAN45) April 15, 2023
https://twitter.com/True_Rcbian_18/status/1647240412481089536