The 'Kohli' chants commenced when LSG captain Krunal Pandya handed Naveen-ul-Haq the new ball
The Lucknow Super Giants not only fought against a powerful Rinku Singh knock to secure their spot in the IPL 2023 playoffs but also battled the relentless Eden Gardens crowd during the second innings constantly resonating with “Virat Kohli” chants. The infamous incident from May 1 in Lucknow remains deeply ingrained in the hearts of fans, who sometimes employ it to demonstrate their support for the former Indian cricketer and other times as a tactic to distract the LSG players mentally.
The ‘Kohli’ chants commenced when LSG captain Krunal Pandya handed Naveen the new ball in the second over of the Kolkata Knight Riders’ chase. The Eden Gardens crowd displayed a lack of respect through their boisterous shouts, which exceeded the level of noise Naveen experienced while playing at home in Lucknow or in the match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad. Naveen struggled in that over and was hit for a series of boundaries by Jason Roy, intensifying the taunts from the crowd directed at the Afghan fast bowler.
Later during that innings, when Ravi Bishnoi had picked up a brilliant catch to complete the dismissal of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Naveen, who had sprinted in from the deep to provide cover, looked back at the crowd and shushed them, just like Gambhir did to the Chinnaswamy crowd last month after the team’s win against RCB.
This is crowd of KKR, what if RCB vs LSG ELIMINATOR happen.
RCB fans eat Gautam and Naveen at Chepauk.🔥🥵pic.twitter.com/9OjqzfGvsW
— Lokesh Saini 🚩 (@LokeshViraat18K) May 21, 2023
LSG are through to the playoffs, becoming the third team after Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans to do so. They have however failed to secure a top-two finish, meaning they will play the Eliminator. And it could be that LSG face RCB in that tie depending on the results of the final two leagues games of IPL 2023.
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