Premier India batter Virat Kohli faced severe criticism following Ishan Kishan's run out in the third ODI against New Zealand this week.
The social media mockery of Virat Kohli came after he was involved in a horrible mix-up with Ishan Kishan, leading to the latter's run-out at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Tuesday.
After captain Rohit Sharma and young opener Shubman Gill gave the Men in Blue a perfect start, courtesy of their centuries, Virat Kohli and Ishan Kishan were expected to continue in the same fashion against the Kiwi bowlers.
Though Virat Kohli was playing an aggressive brand of cricket and quickly moved into top gear, Ishan Kishan was still adjusting to the pace of the pitch at the time.
The incident took place in the 35th over of the Indian innings when Ishan Kishan pushed a Jacob Duffy delivery toward cover before calling Virat Kohli for a run. Although hesitantly, Virat Kohli responded to Ishan Kishan's call after watching his partner taking off for the single.
However, Ishan Kishan suddenly stopped his sprint midway while Virat Kohli kept on running. Ishan Kishan was looking at the fielder who had collected the ball and thrown it toward the wicketkeeper. Ishan Kishan attempted to move back to the striker's end but Virat Kohli reached there before him.
Television replays subsequently confirmed that Virat Kohli crossed the crease before Ishan Kishan and that's why the latter was given out by the umpire.
Yet it was a tense moment between the two batters that caught everyone's attention – Virat Kohli appeared completely disappointed as he put his head down in disbelief. As Ishan Kishan made his way back to the pavilion, the former India captain was clicked saying a few words to Ishan Kishan to which even the left-hander responded.
Virat Kohli ishan Kishan Run out pic.twitter.com/CL9JHiQUYF
— Ankush Chauhan (@AnkushC35642587) January 24, 2023
Shamelessly runout Ishan Kishan. Now Chokli got out🤡🤣
— INCOGNITO (@20_insteresto) January 24, 2023
Myself a fan of @imVkohli, but that @ishankishan51 's runout was pure, wholehearted, fuckin selfishness from his side. #IndVsNZ
— Dr. Ligma Dermatologist 🇮🇳 (Unreserved) (@PruritusAnii) January 24, 2023
Ishan Kishan's downfall seemed to hurt Virat Kohli as moments later he perished for 36 runs of 27 balls.
Fortunately for India, the Virat Kohli and Ishan Kishan exchange didn't have a bearing on the result of the game as they defeated New Zealand to complete their second consecutive whitewash in 2023. Earlier, this month, India had beaten Sri Lanka 3-0 in ODIs.
Strangely, it wasn't the only ugly episode between Indian players during the game in Indore.
After the tense moment between Virat Kohli and Ishan Kishan, it was captain Rohit Sharma’s manic outburst at allrounder Shardul Thakur that grabbed the eyeballs of the fans.
Thanks to blistering centuries by Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill, the Men in Blue went on to post a mammoth 385/9 on the board. In reply, New Zealand lost an early wicket but then a quickfire partnership between Devon Conway and Henry Nicholls looked threatening.
Devon Conway in particular was extremely severe on the Indian bowlers as he cruised through to a stunning ton off only 71 balls and appeared to be taking the Black Caps toward a sensational victory. The counter-attacking stand between Devon Conway and Henry Nicholls made India captain Rohit Sharma worried.
Though the Indian Cricket Team continued to pick wickets at regular intervals, Rohit Sharma realized that until Devon Conway was around, the match was not fully in control of the hosts.
After Henry Nicholls went back to the pavilion following his dismissal by Kuldeep Yadav, Daryl Mitchell joined Devon Conway in the middle. The pair stitched together a 78-run partnership when Rohit Sharma decided to bring the man with the golden arm Shardul Thakur back into the attack.
Shardul Thakur made an immediate impact on the game as he picked up the wickets of Daryl Mitchell and New Zealand skipper Tom Latham on back-to-back deliveries in the 26th over.
Despite sending two Kiwi batters back to the pavilion, skipper Rohit Sharma was left unimpressed by Shardul Thakur as Devon Conway smashed him for consecutive boundaries on his last two deliveries.
With Devon Conway seeing the ball like a football, Shardul Thakur tried to change his tactics and instead of pitching the ball up, he went for short balls twice in a row. But Devon Conway was up for the challenge, pulling them for fours on both occasions and this left Rohit Sharma seething with anger.
Seeing his bowler not following the team strategy, Rohit Sharma jogged up to Shardul Thakur and reprimanded him for nearly 10 seconds in what was a rather unusual outburst from the India captain, who’s known for having a calm head on his shoulders.
But Rohit Sharma’s disappointment with Shardul Thakur vanished in his next over as the allrounder sent Glenn Phillips packing to grab his third wicket of the match.
After India’s triumph, Rohit Sharma and Shardul Thakur were seen hugging each other on the field with the former praising the latter in the post-match presentation ceremony.
Rohit Sharma even went on to dub Shardul Thakur as the “magician” who is expected to deliver the goods whenever the Indian team is in a crisis.
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