IPL 2024: Virat Kohli amuses fans by nearly opening the bowling for RCB against KKR

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)former captain Virat Kohli was at his comedic best when he handed his cap to the umpire before playfully rolling his arms as the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) openers assumed their guardat the Eden Gardens on Sunday (Apr 21).

RCB captain Faf du Plessis won the toss and opted to field first as Cameron Green and Mohammed Siraj made a comeback to the playing XI.However, before Siraj could have a crack with the brand-new white cherry, Kohli hinted that he was the designated opening bowler for his team.

Kohli'saction left the crowd gasping as one of their favourites was seemingly bowling on one of those rare occasions. However, the anticipating Kolkata crowd and its joy was short-lived as King Kohli took his cap back and later had an animated chat with Sunil Narine who was left laughing as well.

KKR vs RCB

Having won the toss, RCB captain Faf du Plessis cited the chasing nature of the ground that dictated his preference of bowling first.

"We will chase. This is probably a chasing ground, always has been. I'm a fan of batting first when it's really hot, but the temperature did drop after an hour or so yesterday, unlike in Mumbai or Chennai where it stays very hot. The batting is so strong that a general score or 60-70 isn't considered great during the batting PP," said Faf du Plessis.

Batting first, KKR managed topost a competitive target of 223, courtesy of a stunning half-century from Shreyas Iyer as well as useful contributions, down the order from Andre Russell, Rinku Singh and Ramandeep Singh.

Teams:

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Faf du Plessis(c), Virat Kohli, Will Jacks, Rajat Patidar, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik(w), Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Lockie Ferguson, Yash Dayal, Mohammed Siraj

Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Philip Salt(w), Sunil Narine, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Shreyas Iyer(c), Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Varun Chakaravarthy, Harshit Rana

(With inputs from agencies)