LSG vs RCB: Virat Kohli replicates Gautam Gambhir's silencing gesture after grabbing stunner to dismiss Ayush Badoni

Star cricketer Virat Kohli once again put his excellent athleticism on display as he took a sensational catch during Match 43 of IPL 2023 against Lucknow Super Giants. During the second innings, LSG were chasing a target of 127 and were 21/2 after four overs with Ayush Badoni and Deepak Hooda at the crease.

On the first ball of the fifth over bowled by Josh Hazlewood, Badoni played an uppish drive which went in the air to Kohli who was coming in from covers and jumped to his full height to take an exceptional catch. 

After completing the catch, Kohli blew a kiss in celebration and asked the crowd to cheer loudly for them. Kohli's celebration is being assumed as a reply to Gautam Gambhir's gesture of silencing the crowd at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium after LSG's emphatic win over RCB in Match 15 of the season.

RCB defeat LSG in low-scoring reverse fixture

Coming back to the match, RCB’s bowling attack was all over LSG’s batting right from the word go as Mohammed Siraj once again struck with the new ball and dismissed the dangerous Kyle Mayers on the second ball of the innings. 

From there on, Lucknow’s batting fell like a house of cards and were reduced to 77/8 after 14.4 overs. Amit Mishra (19 off 30) and Naveen-ul-Haq (13 off 13) added some runs at the death but they weren’t enough to take their team home. As a result, LSG were bundled out for 108, handing an 18-run victory to RCB.

Josh Hazlewood (2/15, 3 overs) and Karn Sharma (2/20) were the pick of the bowlers for RCB.

Earlier in the first innings, after opting to bat first, RCB got off to a reserved start by openers Virat Kohli (31 off 30) and Faf du Plessis (44 off 40) as they put on 62 runs for the first wicket off 54 balls. However, after their partnership ended, RCB’s batters fell like nine pins and could only reach 126/9 in their allotted 20 overs. Naveen-ul-Haq was the pick of the bowlers for LSG as he picked 3/30 in his four-over spell.