Fans watching the match between RCB and KXIP at M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru witnessed a lot of ‘extra’ action on the field with aggressive gestures of Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin during the match.

KXIP lost to RCB by 17 runs but the match will be remembered by fans for the display of ‘tensions’ between the respective skippers.

It began when Kohli caught Ashwin out near the boundary rope and celebrated in what many said was an aggressive manner.

Ashwin had attempted to slam the ball out of the park a second time after hitting a six when the RCB skipper cut it at the near end of its trajectory. At that point, KXIP needed 21 runs in 5 balls.

After taking the catch, Kohli was also seen shouting something and gesturing towards the boundary rope.

Ashwin, on his part, threw his gloves in the dugout and was seen visibly furious.

M42: RCB vs KXIP – Ravichandran Ashwin Wicket https://t.co/7oV9lO9udQ

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And when Kohli, whose side lost the toss and was sent to bat first, got out on a Mohammed Shami delivery, Ashwin was seen celebrating with gusto clearly indicating that he understood the value of the wicket.

At the post-match press conference, Ashwin played down the aggression, “I just played with passion, so does he (Virat). That’s it. As simple as that.”
Kohli, too, talked of the fun he had during the game.

The KXIP skipper said his team failed to come good during crunch situations.

“Three overs for 60 odd runs wasn’t desirable, but we were in the chase all along and I thought we couldn’t finish it off in crunch situation. That is what you back the senior players to do. Didn’t quite turn out the way we wanted. That is exactly how that is gone for us the entire tournament,” he said.

The 32-year-old said KXIP lost the plot in middle overs despite Nicholas Pooran and David Miller bringing them back into the game.

Ashwin felt it was important to curtail AB de Villiers as he could make a lot of difference in end overs.

In the first innings, RCB played brilliantly to post a total of 202-4, courtesy a strong 121-run stand between AB de Villiers (82 off 44) and Marcus Stoinis (46) for the 5th wicket.

“I think (Marcus) Stoinis was 26 off 30 balls before the last over started. So I don’t think that was quite the parameter. I think AB de Villiers is someone who definitely makes a difference in those end overs. It is very important we curtail him. Like I said our execution was all over the place towards the last two-three overs,” he said.

India off-spinner said 30 runs in two overs was getable here at Chinnaswamy track, given the bowling attack of RCB, which had crumbled a lot in this season.

On winning three out of their remaining games now, Ashwin said it is important to take one game at a time.
With 10 points KXIP stands at 5th position in the points table. RCB is on the 7th spot with 8 points.