"Waiting for CR7 to do the Kohli celebration", "Messi fans stop crying" - Fans react as Virat Kohli recreates Cristiano Ronaldo's celebration
Virat Kohli and his fellow RCB teammates recreated Cristiano Ronaldo's famous 'sleeping' celebration. The incident took place after the Bengaluru-based team defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League on Thursday, May 18.
Fans on Twitter were excited to see the crossover between one of the world's greatest cricketers and a modern-day football legend. Kohli has always been an ardent supporter of the five time Ballon d'Or winner.
Ronaldo first performed the celebration while playing for Manchester United in a Premier League game against Everton at Goodison Park in October last year. After coming on as a first-half substitute for Anthony Martial, Ronaldo scored with a left-footed strike in the 44th minute to give his team a 2-1 lead.
Since then, athletes across the globe have paid their homage to the Portuguese forward by imitating his celebration. Kohli took his chance after scoring a century against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL.
Reacting to the images, one fan wrote on Twitter:
"Waiting for CR7 to do the Kohli celebration."
Another fan said:
"Messi fans stop crying."
Here are some of the best reactions from fans across Twitter:
Virat Kohli, Siraj and Parnell doing Cristiano Ronaldo's celebration after the win. https://t.co/VN7p5ZIIwu
How many CR7 celebrations will you guys upload?
Admin: Yes
#PlayBold #ನಮ್ಮRCB #IPL2023 #SRHvRCB twitter.com/rcbtweets/stat… https://t.co/nmZu6f1Z0M
@RCBTweets Waiting for CR7 to do the Kohli celebration
@RCBTweets RCB when they talk about CR7 https://t.co/onhyXLTrpE
@RCBTweets Messi fans stop crying
@RCBTweets RCB Admin>>>
"Still doing it at the highest level at 38" - Virat Kohli on Cristiano Ronaldo
Virat Kohli has always been an avid Cristiano Ronaldo fan. When Ronaldo was being widely mocked after Portugal's quarter-final exit from the 2022 FIFA World Cup at the hands of Morocco, Kohli came to his defense.
The Indian batting maestro claimed that Ronaldo's achievements in the beautiful game go beyond a single trophy. Kohli wrote on Twitter (via The Mint):
"No trophy or any title can take anything away from what you’ve done in this sport and for sports fans around the world. No title can explain the impact you’ve had on people and what I and so many around the world feel when we watch you play. That’s a gift from god."
After his move to Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr in the January transfer window, Ronaldo featured for a combined Riyadh-XI against Paris Saint-Germain in a mid-season friendly.
The Portuguese forward turned back the clock by scoring a brace against a PSG team which included Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappe before getting substituted.
Kohli once again lauded the superstar forward, writing on his Instagram story (via Firstpost):
"Still doing it at the highest level at 38. The football experts sitting and criticising him every week for attention are conveniently quiet now that he’s put in this kind of performance against one of the top clubs in the world. And he was apparently finished."