Delhi Capitals pacer Ishant Sharma and Royal Challengers Bengaluru batter Virat Kohli were engaged in a heated battle in the middle during Match 61 of the IPL 2024 on Sunday.
The veteran cricketers from Delhi were involved in a see-saw battle between bat and ball in the fourth over of RCB's innings after DC won the toss and elected to bowl first.
Ishan't second over started with Kohli hitting him for a four and a six after which the fast bowler and batter exchanged a few words.
But Ishant had the last laugh as two balls later, Kohli edged a wide delivery to the wicketkeeper on 26. Ishant jumped in joy before giving his good friend an earful.
The 35-year-old stopped in front of Kohli and bent down to give him a back bump. Kohli didn't say a word and just walked back to the dressing room after a rare failure this season.
Virat Kohli vs Ishant Sharma in the IPL:
Inns: 11
Runs: 112
Balls: 76
Dismissal: 1
SR: 147.36
4s/6s: 12/5
Notably, both Ishant and Kohli are childhood friends and grew up playing cricket together in Delhi. Ishant was Kohli's senior in the Indian team, having made his debut a year before in 2007.
Kohli's wicket reduced RCB to 36 for 2 in 3.4 overs. This is a must-win match for both sides as a defeat for either RCB or DC will knock them out of the playoffs race.
