Virat Kohli and Naveen ul Haq buried their IPL rivalry as they shared a heartwarming moment together in the middle of the Arun Jaitley Stadium during India's clash against Afghanistan on Wednesday, October 11. The duo was engaged in a warm exchange which was followed by a side hug that saw the whole stadium erupt in joy and cheer the moment as it unfolded.
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Their reconciliation has brought a sweet end to what started off as a bitter on-field rivalry. It all started during the Indian Premier League 2023. The 43rd game between the hosts Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) saw the two players embroil in a verbal spat at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.
Talking more about IPL episode, RCB could only manage to score 126 for the loss of nine wickets in their quota of 20 overs. Virat scored 30 off 31 balls and skipper Faf du Plessis scored the most (44 off 40 balls) for RCB on a tough Ekana wicket.
LSG batters struggled right through their run chase and were tied down by the RCB bowlers. Naveen who is not known for his batting exploits was forced to make his way into the middle in just the 15th over of the innings. The 17th over of LSG's innings witnessed the brawl that shook the spectators, and experts alike. Virat and Naveen had a go at each other with neither willing to back off. The fight didn't end there and even continued after the game ended with RCB registering victory by 18 runs.
LSG skipper KL Rahul invited Naveen to have a chat with Virat after the game but the Afghan player denied it and walked away which accentuated the whole matter. Naveen also took jibes at Virat after the game which took the rivalry to a whole new level.