Virat Kohli vs Gambhir: DK's hilarious answer to key match-ups in RCB vs KKR
IPL 2024, RCB vs KKR: Bengaluru batter Dinesh Karthik made a cheeky remark while talking about match-ups for Friday's game between KKR and RCB. Karthik said Virat Kohli vs Gautam Gambhir was one of the key battles to watch out for in the match. Last year, Kohli and Gambhir had a spat when they met each other.
In Short
- Dinesh Karthik makes cheeky remark ahead of RCB vs KKR
- Karthik calls Kohli vs Gambhir a key match-up from the game
- KKR will play RCB at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru
Kolkata are set to take on Bengaluru at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Friday, 29 March. The match will see a lot of stars go against each other. Sunil Narine, Andre Russell from KKR will be one of the focal points in the game, while on the other hand, RCB will pin their hopes on Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell. However, Bengaluru wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik believes that there is a unique match-up from the game that the people have been missing out on.
In the RCB's game preview, Karthik has joked that Gautam Gambhir vs Virat Kohli will be one of the game between RCB and KKR. Karthik's comments come in the context of the duo having a spat in the 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League, when Gambhir was a mentor of the Lucknow franchise.
"Virat Kohli vs Gautam Gambhir (smiles). Mitchell Starc to Glenn Maxwell will be very interesting. Varun Chakravarthy to me (Dinesh Karthik) will be very interesting," Dinesh Karthik said in RCB's match preview on Friday, 29 March.
IPL 2024 Full Coverage | IPL 2024 Points Table and Standings
This will be the team's second group stage match in the Indian Premier League 2024 as they look to continue their momentum in the tournament. Visiting teams are yet to win a single match in the IPL 2024, but KKR could potentially put up a proper competition against the Bengaluru guys on Friday.
GAMBHIR VS KOHLI SAGA
Gambhir and Kohli were involved in an altercation during a league-stage match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lucknow Super Giants during IPL 2023. Both Kohli and Gambhir had a heated exchange of words following the match. The situation got bad to the extent that other players, including Amit Mishra, had to intervene to bring back normalcy.
IPL 2024, RCB vs KKR: Match Preview
Speaking on ‘ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash’, Gambhir had earlier said he would have defended any player in his team. Kohli and Gambhir were fined 100 per cent of their match fees after breaching the IPL’s Code of Conduct. Both of them pleaded guilty to their charges and a formal hearing wasn’t needed.
“It is not about Naveen-ul-Haq. I would have defended any player, that is my job, that is how I am. Why should I not defend my players just because someone has a broadcaster working for him, left right and centre, someone who has more social media presence doesn't have any right to walk over someone. If I cannot stand with my players, then I have no right to be in that dressing room,” said Gambhir.
He went on to say that once the match was over he had all the right to defend his player and would do so in the future as well. Gambhir has since moved on from LSG, joining former side Kolkata Knight Riders as a mentor for the 2024 season.
RCB vs KKR: Head-to-Head
Kolkata and Bengaluru have played 32 matches in between them with KKR being slightly ahead by 18-14 margin. But more importantly, while playing at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, KKR fare better than Bengaluru and have won 7 matches out of a total of 11 played between the two sides.