The recent clash between the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians in the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) witnessed a subtle yet intense sledging attempt by RCB skipper Virat Kohli to pull batsman Suryakumar Yadav off his game at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
The incident took place during defending champions Mumbai Indians’ chase of 165 runs against the Bangalore-based franchise in Match 48.
Yadav, who has impressed with his performances in the ongoing season of the cash-rich league so far, once again shown with the bat as he notched up a blistering unbeaten knock of 73 runs off 43 deliveries to guide Mumbai Indians to a five-wicket win over RCB with five balls to spare.
However, there was one moment during Yadav’s match-winning knock that grabbed the eyeballs.
Needing 10 runs to complete his IPL fifty, Yadav flicked a Dale Steyn delivey in the 13th over straight to Kohli at extra cover.In a bid to sledge the Mumbai Indians batsman, the RCB skipper walked up to Suryakumar Yadav while staring angrily at him.
However, Suryakumar showed calm and composure by first keeping a deadpan expression on his face before walking away to change strike.
A video of the same has been doing rounds on social media in which Kohli and Suryakumar could be seen engaged in an epic stare-off.
Take a look at the incident:
In yesterday match, Kohli came to sledge #SuryakumarYadav during the break and surya left like a gentleman, such a shameful act by virat kohli,didn’t expect this from a batsman like virat#SuryakumarYadav #MIvsRCB #BCCIpolitics pic.twitter.com/AVjMN8ZNNX
— mumbai indians (@rkgupta7257) October 29, 2020
On a related note, the victory saw four-time winners Mumbai Indians consolidate their position at the top of the IPL 13 points table with eight victories and virtually seal a spot in the playoffs of lucrative T20 tournament.
RCB, on the other hand, have managed to click in all departments this season and are standing just behind MI at the second spot in the standings with seven wins from 12 matches.
While MI will next lock horns with Delhi Capitals on October 31, RCB will square off with Sunrisers Hyderabad a day later.
