By: Sandipan Bose
While chasing a 185-run winning target against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, the Kolkata Knight Riders were 105 for four at the end of the 14th over.
They still needed 81 runs from 36 deliveries to put the RCB on the mat and practically, there wasn’t much hope for KKR. Both Yusuf Pathan and Andre Russell had other plans.
They changed the complexion of the game with powerful shots and as they got close to the victory mark, a strange incident happened in the KKR dug-out.
Their captain, Gautam Gambhir stood up, turned his back towards the field and kicked the chair he was sitting on. He was obviously “kicked” about the fact that his team was on the verge of winning the game from a position of defeat. Gambhir also got his adrenalin going because his men were beating Virat Kohli’s team away from home.
It wasn’t like the incident that happened three seasons ago when both Kohli and Gambhir got into an ugly spat during their IPL clash in Bangalore.
To refresh your memory this happened after Kohli was caught out and he exchanged a few remarks. Suddenly, Gambhir was seen walking angrily towards his state-mate.
However it was another Delhi cricketer from the KKR team, Rajat Bhatia, who was able to separate them. Since that incident, none of them shared a great rapport.
And since that incident, Kohli has mellowed down tremendously. Even when his team loses close games, he doesn’t lose his cool.
He will offer you an occasional smile and will also raise his hands in disgust. But this is clearly a new Kohli in the making and he has learnt to swallow a bitter pill.
Kohli’s transformation is highlighted by Gambhir’s stagnation. As far as Gambhir is concerned, the aggression comes out from time to time. This is what keeps Gambhir going in life.
Monday was one such occasion when he could have celebrated his excitement in some other way, like he did after the match. But he decided to kick a chair in the dug-out – which is why one wonders if this is more to that problem than meets the eye!
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