Sourav Ganguly, the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, was a happy spectator at the Eden Gardens for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 Eliminator between Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Both teams played their part in a high-scoring thriller in front of a packed Kolkata crowd, with Fat de Pleases side eventually going through to Qualifier 2 with a 14-run win. There was some brilliant bowling and delectable strokes on display and during RCB’s innings, one shot in particular seemed to have caught Ganguly’s attention.
Facing the first ball of the second over, bowled by Dushmantha Chameera, Kohli showed just how good he is with his wrists as he flicked an overpitched delivery to the right of mid-on for a boundary.
The ball was full and on his pads, and he is one of the best in the business when it comes to putting deliveries like that away, and he made no mistake this time either, even with his opening partner du Plessis falling in the previous over.
Ganguly and BCCI secretary Jay Shah both looked visibly impressed.
Ganguly’s reaction in particular caught the attention of the internet, with several Twitter users sharing screenshots of his expression.
Kohli went on to score just 25 off 24 deliveries, but RCB were powered on by Rajat Patidar’s incredible century.
The RCB No.3 smashed an unbeaten 112 off 54, having reached his century off just 49 deliveries – the fastest of the season.
Dinesh Karthik also played a good knock at the death, scoring 37* off 23.
Their efforts at the death helped RCB reach 207/4 in their 20 overs.
A 96-run stand between KL Rahul and Deepak Hooda threatened to spoil the party for RCB but some brilliant bowling at the death by Harshal Patel and Josh Hazlewood saw them restrict LSG to 193/6 to set up a Qualifier 2 clash against Rajasthan Royals.
