Virat Kohli’s million-dollar post-match gesture for Noor Ahmad after getting dismissed to GT bowler in IPL 2024 tie

Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Virat Kohli may have made the headlines after Sunil Gavaskar showed no mercy to him over his strike rate rant last week in IPL 2024, but the RCB batter did win hearts following his priceless gesture for the Gujarat Titans bowler who dismissed him during the clash on Saturday at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Kohli was part of the fiery 92-run opening stand alongside captain Faf du Plessis, who played the aggressor throughout, as the pair smashed 10 boundaries and four maximums to lay down the perfect foundation for RCB’s chase of 147.

Du Plessis was dismissed in the final delivery of the powerplay, but Kohli carried on as GT inflicted a threat by picking up five wickets in just 18 balls for 19 runs. The former India captain departed five balls later with Noor Ahmad dismissing him with a delivery that spun away sharply to take the faintest edge of the bat before wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha completed the dismissal comfortably. Kohli walked back just eight runs short of his fifty.

After the match, Kohli gifted Noor a signed jersey of himself with a message that read: “Dear Noor, well bowled. Wish you the best!” The GT star later took to Instagram to share it as a story. He captioned it: “Always one if my favourite. Thanks, Virat Kohli.”

Despite the flurry of wickets that GT bowlers picked as their short-ball ploy worked to perfection, RCB managed to bounce back after Dinesh Karthik held his nerves to carve out an unbeaten 21 off 12 balls, beating the visitors by four wickets. The win also helped them complete a double against the former champions, who they defeated by nine wicketes earlier this week in Ahmedabad.

This was RCB’s third straight win on the trot that lifted them from the bottom-most position in the IPL 2024 points table to the seventh spot. With eight points from 11 matches, RCB are still alive in the race to make the playoffs, albeit with a mathematical chance.