Star Indian batsman Virat Kohli rose to the situation. He smashed a brilliant century as Royal Challengers Bangalore managed to defeat Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight wickets in a crucial IPL 2023 encounter. At the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Kohli and Faf du Plessis (71 runs off 47 deliveries) set the tone for the game as they attempted to reach the 187-run goal. With the victory, RCB climbed to the fourth place in the IPL points standings.
After RCB's victory, renowned journalist Rajat Sharma launched a vicious attack on Gautam Gambhir. Notably, Rajat and the former cricketer got into a social media argument when Rajat questioned the former's angry conversation with Virat during LSG's match against RCB earlier in the season. Rajat praised the former RCB captain for his century in his tweet before criticising Gambhir.
"Magnificent 100 by Virat. It was a delight to watch. Of course, somebody somewhere may not be happy," Rajat Sharma wrote on Twitter.
The qualification race for the IPL 2023 playoffs gets even closer
The path to the IPL playoffs heated up with RCB's eight-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad on May 18, as Bangalore and Mumbai both have 14 points after 13 games. But with 12 points each, the Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Punjab Kings still have a chance to qualify for the playoffs, even though their qualification scenario appears to be challenging.
Since their net run rate will ultimately determine their standing in the league, RCB and MI will need to lose their final league game of the season while winning by a huge margin. In that regard, Rajasthan will play Punjab in their last game of the season, giving either team a chance to finish among the top four, while KKR will face Lucknow Super Giants, who are vying for a spot among the top two. But LSG will be forced to withdraw from the competition if RCB and MI both win their respective games and they lose.
Here's how fans reacted to the eminent journalist's tweet:
king K π of course but this tweet is so not done ππ»
β Bhavesh Rao (@bhaveshsrao) May 18, 2023
Ye kaunse naye business mai agaye aap
β Trupti Garg ξ¨ (@garg_trupti) May 18, 2023
Sir you behaving like a troll not journalist! @RajatSharmaLive
β Laksshya Advani (@LaksshyaAdvani) May 18, 2023
All I can is facts ππ₯
β Pari (@BluntIndianGal) May 18, 2023
Shame Rajat Sharma ji, This is not your standard stop behaving like a troll.
β Lala (@FabulasGuy) May 18, 2023
Are Are Are! Ghar mein hi ghamasaan ho raha hai ye tohππ
β Arpit Sharma (@iArpitSpeaks) May 18, 2023
Mere liye ab esa bologe, yaad nahi mene bhi World Cup jeetaya tha : pic.twitter.com/Z0BuA24RgS
β Abhay (@abhaysrivastavv) May 18, 2023
I don't care if you are "Team Virat" or "Team Gambhir"....but this 2 kaudi ka pattalkar Rajat Sharma deserves to be dragged down.... pic.twitter.com/SyrRWJxmZN
β Incognito (@Incognito_qfs) May 18, 2023