[Watch] Virat Kohli can't stop smiling as Shikhar Dhawan's doppelganger is spotted in crowd during RCB vs PBKS clashÂ
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) vs Punjab Kings (PBKS) game was an intensely contested one. But Virat Kohli's reaction to Shikhar Dhawan's doppelganger spotted in the crowd was one of the fun moments of the game.
RCB beat PBKS by four wickets, with as many balls to spare in match number six of IPL 2024 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Monday, March 25. Batting first, Punjab Kings were held to 176-6, which Royal Challengers Bengaluru chased down in the last over.
In the 18th over of Punjab's innings, the cameras focused on a lookalike of PBKS captain Dhawan in the crowd. As the veteran player's doppelganger appeared on the screen, Kohli, who was fielding near the boundary, could not contain his excitement. He was seen reacting with a child-like smile after watching the clip of Dhawan's duplicate.
Here's the video:
Incidentally, Dhawan top-scored for Punjab Kings with 45 off 37, hitting five fours and a six. After being asked to bat first by RCB captain Faf du Plessis, PBKS got off to a poor start, with opener Jonny Bairstow (8) falling to Mohammed Siraj.
Dhawan and Prabhsimran Singh (25 off 17) added 55 for the second wicket. The latter, though, was dismissed by Glenn Maxwell. Punjab Kings suffered a double blow, as Liam Livingstone (17 off 13) and Dhawan fell off consecutive deliveries.
Livingstone top-edged the last ball of the 12th over from Alzarri Joseph to the keeper, while Dhawan mishit the first ball of the 13th over from Maxwell to long off. Cameos from Sam Curran (23 off 17), Jitesh Sharma (27 off 20) and Shashank Singh (21* off 8) took Punjab Kings past the 175-run mark.
Kohli top-scored for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the chase, hammering 77 off 49 with the aid of 11 fours and two sixes. Punjab Kings kept chipping away at the wickets, but Dinesh Karthik (28* off 10) and Impact Player Mahipal Lomror (17* off 8) lifted RCB to victory.
"We scored 10-15 runs less" - Shikhar Dhawan
Reflecting on the defeat, PBKS Dhawan opined that they scored 10-15 runs less. He also admitted that dropping Kohli early cost them big time. The opening batter elaborated:
"It was a good game. We brought the game back and then we lost. I feel that we scored 10-15 runs less.
"In the first six overs. I played a bit slow. Those 15-20 runs cost us and the dropped catch as well. Virat scored 70-odd runs. We dropped the catch of a class player and paid the price."
Kohli was dropped at slip by Bairstow off Curran in the first over of the chase, and the RCB batter went on to compile yet another chasing masterclass.