[Watch] "You are too good Pat" - Virat Kohli and Pat Cummins engage in friendly banter ahead of RCB-SRH IPL 2024 clash
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) stars Virat Kohli and Pat Cummins engaged in a friendly banter ahead of their IPL 2024 clash in Hyderabad on Thursday, April 25.
The duo have had their battles across formats over the years, with both players outdueling the other on different occasions.
Cummins has the upper hand in Tests, dismissing Kohli five times, with the ace batter averaging under 20 against the Aussie pacer. However, in ODIs, the former RCB captain averages 87 against the SRH skipper and has been dismissed only twice.
Yet, Indian fans have the painful memory of Cummins removing Kohli at a crucial juncture in the 2023 ODI World Cup final.
In a video shared by the RCB's social media handles, a padded-up Cummins walked up to Kohli, who was sitting down with his pads on, and said:
"The coach was saying I was making that wicket look flat. That's all I heard."
Kohli responded:
"You are too good Pat."
The duo exchanged hand-shakes and were all smiles while at it in a friendly banter ahead of the crucial encounter.
Here is the video of the same:
When it comes to the IPL, Cummins has never dismissed Kohli, with the batter scoring 29 off 27 deliveries. However, the Aussie pacer has sent Kohli packing once in T20Is.
The Indian superstar is currently the leading run-scorer of IPL 2024 with 379 runs at an average of over 63 and a strike rate of 150.39. Kohli has also scored a century and two half-centuries.
Meanwhile, Cummins has quietly had a good tournament himself, picking up nine wickets at an average of under 25 and an economy of eight in seven games.
Kohli and Cummins have already faced off in IPL 2024
Virat Kohli and Pat Cummins have already faced off once in IPL 2024 when SRH took on RCB in Bengaluru on April 15.
After scoring an IPL record 287/3 in 20 overs, SRH held off a spirited run-chase from RCB to win by 25 runs. Kohli scored a quick-fire 42 off 20 and faced two deliveries from Cummins, one of which he smashed for a boundary.
However, in the bigger picture, it is all smiles for Cummins as SRH are currently third on the points table with five wins in seven outings. As for Kohli, it has been another season of dismay with RCB struggling at the bottom of the standings with a lone win in eight games.
Cummins' captaincy has been hailed from all corners for sparking a turnaround in SRH's fortunes after the side finished at bottom a year ago.