Latest news with #KingKohli
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
‘RCB agar final nahi jeeti toh talaaq': Woman's dramatic banner grabs eyeballs during IPL playoffs
As Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) storm into the IPL final for the first time since 2016, fan fervour has reached a fever pitch — and one woman's dramatic show of support has taken social media by storm. Also read: 'Iss saal RCB jeet jaye toh …': X post backfires for Vijay Mallya as internet revives 'return to India' chant At the Qualifier 1 match between RCB and Punjab Kings (PBKS) held on May 29 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Chandigarh, a woman in a red saree was seen holding a bright yellow placard with an outrageous pledge. It read, 'RCB agar 'final' nahi jeeti toh main apne pati ko talaaq dungi,' (tagging herself as @chiraiya_ho and using #KingKohli). The poster quickly went viral, sparking a wave of laughter and comments across platforms. Many posted laughing emojis, while others chimed in with their own reactions. One user joked, 'RCB jeete ya na jeete, inka talaaq hona chahiye.' Also read: Full list of missing players in IPL Playoffs and their replacements: Buttler, Jansen, Rickelton among unavailable stars RCB fans have long been known for their passion, but this banner took things up a notch as it spread rapidly online — a mix of cricket fever and desi humour that perfectly captures the energy of this IPL season. RCB have reached their fourth IPL final, having previously made it in 2009, 2011, and 2016. Only Chennai Super Kings (10) and Mumbai Indians (6) have featured in more finals, while KKR have also made four appearances. Since the introduction of the playoffs system in 2011, every team finishing second in the league stage has gone on to reach the final—RCB have now continued that 15 out of 15 streak. Also read: 'Finally became pooja paath type': Virat Kohli's lookalike in Odisha temple distributing prasad stuns internet
Khaleej Times
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
IPL 2025: Kohli primed to banish years of heartache in playoffs
Virat Kohli can fulfil his dream of finally winning the Indian Premier League when the playoffs begin this week, desperate to banish the "heartbreak" of losing the final as captain nine years ago. Kohli's Royal Challengers Bengaluru face table-toppers Punjab Kings on Thursday in Mullanpur after securing second place by chasing 228 to beat Lucknow Super Giants on Tuesday. The winners go straight into the final in Ahmedabad on June 3. But even if Bengaluru lose that encounter, they will have another chance to reach the final against the winners of Friday's "eliminator" between Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians. The 36-year-old Kohli recently retired from Tests having already walked away from T20 internationals after India's World Cup triumph last year. But the hunger to lift the IPL trophy still burns bright for the two-time World Cup winner, who played a leading part in India's 50-over Champions Trophy victory earlier this year. "I had two heartbreaks in my life in 2016," Kohli told Indian broadcaster JioStar. "First was the World T20 and then the IPL final." Affectionately known as "King Kohli", he has scored more runs than anyone in IPL history and is the only player to have spent all 18 seasons of the league with one team since its inception in 2008. He has been on the losing side in the final three times, in 2009, 2011 and 2016, but fans believe that it is an omen that Kohli wears number 18 on his shirt -- and that it will be 18th time lucky this year. He has been in vintage form as he pursues his goal: his 54 on Tuesday that set up victory against Lucknow was his eighth half-century of a season in which he has made 602 runs at an average of 60.20. A delay to the season caused by the conflict with Pakistan means some overseas players will be missing from the playoffs including Gujarat's Jos Buttler, who has international commitments with England. But Australia pace bowler Josh Hazlewood returned to the Bengaluru squad on Sunday and is expected to play on Thursday, having left when the IPL was suspended on May 9. There had been doubts over his return because of a shoulder niggle and the playoffs clashing with preparations for Australia's World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord's on June 11. Punjab will be without left-arm quick bowler Marco Jansen, who has left to join South Africa's training camp ahead of the Test showpiece. "Every team's missing players," Punjab head coach Ricky Ponting said. "We'd like to think we've got good depth, and be able to cover for Marco, despite it being a big miss." Five-time champions Mumbai, led by Hardik Pandya, seem to have been the worst hit by the extended schedule overlapping with the international calendar. They have lost England's Will Jacks and the South African duo of Ryan Rickelton and Corbin Bosch for their eliminator against Gujarat. The Titans, IPL champions on their debut in 2022, have a formidable batting line-up even without Buttler. Skipper Shubman Gill, who has taken over from the retired Rohit Sharma as Test captain, and fellow opener Sai Sudharsan are the top two on this season's batting charts, with 679 and 649 runs respectively. Gill will take charge of India for the first time when they embark on a five-Test tour of England, starting at Headingley, Leeds, on June 20.
France 24
4 days ago
- Sport
- France 24
Kohli primed to banish years of heartache in IPL playoffs
Kohli's Royal Challengers Bengaluru face table-toppers Punjab Kings on Thursday in Mullanpur after securing second place by chasing 228 to beat Lucknow Super Giants on Tuesday. The winners go straight into the final in Ahmedabad on June 3. But even if Bengaluru lose that encounter, they will have another chance to reach the final against the winners of Friday's "eliminator" between Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians. The 36-year-old Kohli recently retired from Tests having already walked away from T20 internationals after India's World Cup triumph last year. But the hunger to lift the IPL trophy still burns bright for the two-time World Cup winner, who played a leading part in India's 50-over Champions Trophy victory earlier this year. "I had two heartbreaks in my life in 2016," Kohli told Indian broadcaster JioStar. "First was the World T20 and then the IPL final." Affectionately known as "King Kohli", he has scored more runs than anyone in IPL history and is the only player to have spent all 18 seasons of the league with one team since its inception in 2008. He has been on the losing side in the final three times, in 2009, 2011 and 2016, but fans believe that it is an omen that Kohli wears number 18 on his shirt -- and that it will be 18th time lucky this year. He has been in vintage form as he pursues his goal: his 54 on Tuesday that set up victory against Lucknow was his eighth half-century of a season in which he has made 602 runs at an average of 60.20. Hazlewood return A delay to the season caused by the conflict with Pakistan means some overseas players will be missing from the playoffs including Gujarat's Jos Buttler, who has international commitments with England. But Australia pace bowler Josh Hazlewood returned to the Bengaluru squad on Sunday and is expected to play on Thursday, having left when the IPL was suspended on May 9. There had been doubts over his return because of a shoulder niggle and the playoffs clashing with preparations for Australia's World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord's on June 11. Punjab will be without left-arm quick bowler Marco Jansen, who has left to join South Africa's training camp ahead of the Test showpiece. "Every team's missing players," Punjab head coach Ricky Ponting said. "We'd like to think we've got good depth, and be able to cover for Marco, despite it being a big miss." Five-time champions Mumbai, led by Hardik Pandya, seem to have been the worst hit by the extended schedule overlapping with the international calendar. They have lost England's Will Jacks and the South African duo of Ryan Rickelton and Corbin Bosch for their eliminator against Gujarat. The Titans, IPL champions on their debut in 2022, have a formidable batting line-up even without Buttler. Skipper Shubman Gill, who has taken over from the retired Rohit Sharma as Test captain, and fellow opener Sai Sudharsan are the top two on this season's batting charts, with 679 and 649 runs respectively. Gill will take charge of India for the first time when they embark on a five-Test tour of England, starting at Headingley, Leeds, on June 20.
CNA
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CNA
Box-office Kohli leaves test cricket with massive void
NEW DELHI :India stalwart Virat Kohli's test retirement has robbed the format of its biggest global star and its most influential advocate, leaving a vacuum that will be hard to fill. Kohli has ended his 123-test career having amassed 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85, securing his position as a modern great of the game. Between 2014-2022, Kohli captained India to 40 wins in 68 tests to become the country's most successful skipper in the format. But the 36-year-old's lasting legacy in test cricket lies beyond his truckload of runs and checked cover-drive, which is among the game's most beautiful shots. Having succeeded Mahendra Singh Dhoni as India's test captain, "King Kohli" overhauled India's approach to turn the team into a ruthless juggernaut that did not rely anymore on designer dustbowls to win test matches. Kohli demanded, and helped create, a formidable pace pool in his single-minded pursuit to turn India into a team capable of winning tests anywhere in the world. Mostly they did. He revolutionised the fitness culture in the India dressing room, turning a somewhat lax fielding side into a crack squad of electric-heel fielders. Kohli led by example. Nicknamed "Chiku" after a chubby-cheek popular comic book character in India in his early years, Kohli sacrificed his favourite butter chicken and grew into a lean, mean run-machine with an extraordinary ability to run between the wickets. On the field, he is among the safest catchers and the fastest retrievers of the ball. When doing none of this, Kohli, like a conductor at an orchestra, whips up boisterous support from the stands with just one gesture. When needed, he can also silence the stands with a glare or gesture, like he did at the Oval after India fans started booing Australia batter Steve Smith during a 2019 World Cup match. THE DRAMA The silky-smooth batting, the wild celebrations and a penchant to get under an opponent's skin - Kohli has often been at the centre of an unfolding drama, which injects fresh life into a fan's often-dreary experience of watching test cricket. Kohli's name fills the stands and guarantees theatre, and his availability is often a major factor in broadcast rights negotiations. Married to a Bollywood star, Kohli has 271 million followers on Instagram and 67.8 million on X - making him a social media phenomenon. His popularity has been a key factor behind cricket's return to the Olympics at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, the organisers acknowledged last year. Kohli called on all of it to back test cricket's primacy - demanding a results-oriented approach and advocating India hold their home matches in select venues with guaranteed full-houses. "There's something deeply personal about playing in whites," Kohli wrote about his love for the format in his retirement statement. "The quiet grind, the long days, the small moments that no one sees but that stay with you forever." As a batter, he fell well short of Sachin Tendulkar's 15,921 runs from 200 tests, but Kohli may have carved out a stronger legacy, according to former Australia captain Greg Chappell. "... perhaps Kohli even eclipses him (Tendulkar) in terms of cultural influence and psychological impact on India's cricketing identity," he wrote on ESPNcricinfo. "Kohli, the incandescent heart of Indian cricket for over a decade, did not just score runs. He redefined expectations, challenged conventions, and symbolised the self-assured, unapologetic India of the 21st century. "He was the most Australian non-Australian cricketer we've ever seen - a snarling warrior in whites, never giving an inch, always demanding more. Not just of his bowlers, his fielders or his opposition, but first and foremost, of himself."
Reuters
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Box-office Kohli leaves test cricket with massive void
NEW DELHI, May 12 (Reuters) - India stalwart Virat Kohli's test retirement has robbed the format of its biggest global star and its most influential advocate, leaving a vacuum that will be hard to fill. Kohli has ended his 123-test career having amassed 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85, securing his position as a modern great of the game. Between 2014-2022, Kohli captained India to 40 wins in 68 tests to become the country's most successful skipper in the format. But the 36-year-old's lasting legacy in test cricket lies beyond his truckload of runs and checked cover-drive, which is among the game's most beautiful shots. Having succeeded Mahendra Singh Dhoni as India's test captain, "King Kohli" overhauled India's approach to turn the team into a ruthless juggernaut that did not rely anymore on designer dustbowls to win test matches. Kohli demanded, and helped create, a formidable pace pool in his single-minded pursuit to turn India into a team capable of winning tests anywhere in the world. Mostly they did. He revolutionised the fitness culture in the India dressing room, turning a somewhat lax fielding side into a crack squad of electric-heel fielders. Kohli led by example. Nicknamed "Chiku" after a chubby-cheek popular comic book character in India in his early years, Kohli sacrificed his favourite butter chicken and grew into a lean, mean run-machine with an extraordinary ability to run between the wickets. On the field, he is among the safest catchers and the fastest retrievers of the ball. When doing none of this, Kohli, like a conductor at an orchestra, whips up boisterous support from the stands with just one gesture. When needed, he can also silence the stands with a glare or gesture, like he did at the Oval after India fans started booing Australia batter Steve Smith during a 2019 World Cup match. The silky-smooth batting, the wild celebrations and a penchant to get under an opponent's skin - Kohli has often been at the centre of an unfolding drama, which injects fresh life into a fan's often-dreary experience of watching test cricket. Kohli's name fills the stands and guarantees theatre, and his availability is often a major factor in broadcast rights negotiations. Married to a Bollywood star, Kohli has 271 million followers on Instagram and 67.8 million on X - making him a social media phenomenon. His popularity has been a key factor behind cricket's return to the Olympics at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, the organisers acknowledged last year. Kohli called on all of it to back test cricket's primacy - demanding a results-oriented approach and advocating India hold their home matches in select venues with guaranteed full-houses. "There's something deeply personal about playing in whites," Kohli wrote about his love for the format in his retirement statement. "The quiet grind, the long days, the small moments that no one sees but that stay with you forever." As a batter, he fell well short of Sachin Tendulkar's 15,921 runs from 200 tests, but Kohli may have carved out a stronger legacy, according to former Australia captain Greg Chappell. "... perhaps Kohli even eclipses him (Tendulkar) in terms of cultural influence and psychological impact on India's cricketing identity," he wrote on ESPNcricinfo. "Kohli, the incandescent heart of Indian cricket for over a decade, did not just score runs. He redefined expectations, challenged conventions, and symbolised the self-assured, unapologetic India of the 21st century. "He was the most Australian non-Australian cricketer we've ever seen - a snarling warrior in whites, never giving an inch, always demanding more. Not just of his bowlers, his fielders or his opposition, but first and foremost, of himself."
