[Watch] "Bol, mujhe sirf stump dikhra" - Virat Kohli, Karn Sharma pull Mohammed Siraj's leg for his post-match speech after RCB vs DC in IPL 2024
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)'s Virat Kohli and Karn Sharma adorably pulled pacer Mohammed Siraj's leg in the dressing room after the team's brilliant 47-run win over Delhi Capitals at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday, May 12.
Siraj was giving his thoughts on RCB's turn-around in IPL 2024, about how the team are trying to control what they can by focusing on one match at a time. Here's what he said:
"What a comeback. We were only thinking about focussing on one match at a time. Qualification is not in our control. What is in our control -- fast bowlers have balls in their hands and batters have bats in their hands... All we have to do is attack. If we qualify then great. If not, we'll continue with the brand of cricket we are playing. That's our thinking and we are enjoying it as well."
Karn picked up on one of his incomplete sentences about how "fast bowlers have balls in their hands and batters have bats" and asked what he meant by it.
When the pacer couldn't answer convincingly, Kohli, who was sitting next to them too, joked about it. He said the pacer should simply say "Mujhe sirf stump dikhra" (I can only see the stumps) with his quirky accent adding to the moment.
Watch the video here:
Despite the banter, the mantra has worked for RCB. They had just one win from the first seven games in IPL 2024. After a narrow one-run loss to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Eden Gardens, they registered five wins on the trot to get back into contention for the playoffs and now are a few favorable results away.
RCB's latest win came without Virat Kohli and Mohammed Siraj's help
The turnaround was mostly led by Siraj's return to form and Kohli going bonkers at the top of the order. However, they contributed with 27 (13) and 1/33 (4) respectively against DC, and it was Yash Dayal (3-20 in 3.1 overs), Will Jacks (41 off 29), and Rajat Patidar's (52 off 32) performances that took the home side through.
These are good signs not only for this season but also for the sustainability of their identity in the coming years.