After the Lucknow crowd's repeated ‘Kohli’ chants, MI captain Rohit Sharma smashed LSG pacer Naveen-ul-Haq for a six.
Naveen-ul-Haq hasn't been in action in over two weeks. The last time the Lucknow Super Giants fans saw him on the cricket field was in that heated game against Royal Challengers Bangalore on May 1, a match known more for the spat between him and Virat Kohli. He was picked for the Chennai Super Kings game a day later, but the match was washed out due to rain. On his return to action on Tuesday, against Mumbai Indians, Naveen did produce a decent show until being smashed for 19 runs in the penultimate over of the game. But he survived the criticism after Mohsin Khan held his nerves in the final over to defend 10 runs as LSG escaped with a narrow win to stay firm in the race for the playoffs.
Despite being away from action, fans of the LSG remembered what had unfolded more than a fortnight ago at the Ekana Stadium. And rather than backing their star pacer, they teased him when captain Krunal Pandya gave him the new ball.
The Afghanistan quick conceded 16 runs in two overs he bowled in the powerplay. Ishan Kishan hit a four while Rohit Sharma smashed a six in Naveen's second over. However, the part that stood out was when Naveen came into the attack, the crowd broke into "Kohli, Kohli" chants. It was on even during the second over with a video showing the Lucknow crowd going wild with their repeated ‘Kohli’ chants before Rohit picked up the slower delivery and flicked it for a 65-metre six over square leg.
— Billu Pinki (@BilluPinkiSabu) May 17, 2023
Rewinding the incident from May 1, Kohli had allegedly left Naveen furious when he was batting by pointing towards the dirt on his shoes. Naveen's LSG teammate Amit Mishra was seen complaining to the umpires, who had to intervene. Later, the two shared an intense handshake where Glenn Maxwell had to step in to separate them. The ugly scenes stretched further as Kohli later got into a spat with LSG mentor Gautam Gambhir as well.
Naveen may not have been a part of the XI since that match but his cheeky Instagram posts have kept him in the news with fans speculating that his updates were targeting Kohli indirectly.
On Tuesday, Naveen had bowled an excellent 16th over, giving away only six runs. However, in the penultimate over, Tim David smashed him for two sixes as he conceded 19 runs to bring MI within touching distance. For LSG, it was Mohsin to the rescue as he gave away only five runs to help LSG jump to the third spot in the points table.
Disclaimer: This Article is auto-generated from the HT news service
