IPL 2023, RCB vs KKR | Twitter reacts to Virat Kohli uncharacteristically lauding Harshal Patel despite catching woes
Some players are known for their unique characteristics, and their confidence and charisma have helped them win the esteem of others. Virat Kohli is widely praised for his ultra-aggressive nature on the field, yet, he kept his calm despite watching teammate Harshal Patel drop a simple catch.
Virat Kohli continued to captain Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for the third successive time in IPL 2023 on Wednesday in place of Faf du Plessis, who again started on the bench due to an injury. The talismanic Indian batter enjoyed two wins in his previous two matches as the skipper, but against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Chinnaswamy, he seemed to have a tough task ahead. On a track that has been historically a paradise for the batters, KKR posted 200/5 at the end of 20 overs. However, the Purple and Gold Brigade might not have gotten there had RCB not dropped simple catches one after another.
Out of them, the most significant dropped catch which left everyone in utter disbelief happened during the 15th over. Harshal Patel was the culprit of it, as he failed to grab the catch when the ball came straight to him at fine leg off Nitish Rana. It was a good-length delivery by Mohammed Siraj which was on the pads, but Rana could not time it properly to send it to the fans.
After Harshal dropped the sitter, which was Rana’s second lifeline, Kohli, usually known for being expressive on the field, kept his calm. In fact, he clapped nicely to indicate Harshal to chin up and get ready for the next delivery. The netizens were quite surprised to see their ‘King’ doing that gesture, while simultaneously, they did not hold back to criticize Harshal for making a schoolboy error.
Drop & applaud
— Washington Ydav (@WashingtonYdav) April 27, 2023
Never seen such reaction from Virat Kohli!
— Surya Sharma (@SuryaSh54265109) April 26, 2023
Poor form!
Bowling bhi nahin karta… can we trade Harshal Patel and get in Shreyanka Patil plz🥺🥺
— Vrishabh Gowda (@gowda_vrishabh) April 26, 2023
Sadly he was gone before 20th over!
Harshal Patel deserves proper treatment by Andre Russell.#KKRvsRCB #RCBvsKKR
— Ayush Gupta (@ThatBareillyGuy) April 26, 2023
Lol! xD xD xD
Harshal patel ko dekh kar Esa Pratit Hota he ki jese yepehli baar khel raha ho.
— Maidawat (@siddharth2661) April 26, 2023
He is yet to make his performance look better as a bowler!
Why Harshal Patel is still playing?? #RCBvsKKR
— Nishant Tripathi (@Nishant28883228) April 26, 2023
He's trying to find his role!
Harshal Patel can't win matches with the ball; neither with the bat nor in the field.
— criclover_ba13 (@criclover_ba13) April 26, 2023
RCB fans are heated up!
Harshal Patel can alone cost RCB the season
— imam hulagur (@imamhulagur) April 26, 2023
What a talent #RCBvsKKR
Agreed after wacthing this game!
Harshal Patel and Siraj are just the worst fielders
— Suketu (@im_suketu) April 26, 2023
Hahaha!
Harshal Patel is the KL Rahul of Bowling…!!! .#IPL2023
— Shitty Teenager 🖕 (@shubham7089) April 26, 2023
He was bit short on it!
Harshal Patel will go for 24 in his last over . #IPL2023 #RCB
— Aarav 🏏 (@iamAaravSingh04) April 26, 2023
Left zero letters on keyboard to discuss this!
If this Harshal Patel can play cricket then why wouldn't I ?#IPL2023 #RCBvsKKR @RCBTweets #ViratKohli
— Asik Sekh (@AsikSekh17) April 26, 2023