ODI World Cup 2023

WATCH: Crowd chants for Virat Kohli after Naveen Ul Haq comes out to bat in New Delhi

Crowd chants for Virat Kohli on seeing Naveen Ul Haq come out to bat.

Oct 11, 2023 8:14 pm

The Indian Cricket Team is playing their second match of the ODI World Cup 2023 on Wednesday. New Delhi is hosting the match as Rohit Sharma and his men take on Afghanistan. It is an important game for the Men in Blue after their win over Australia on Sunday in Chennai.

Hasmatullah Shahidi won the toss and asked India to bowl first. This was the second time in succession that Rohit Sharma had failed to call the coin correctly. There was no change to the playing XI for the Afghanistan team. For India, it was Shardul Thakur who came into the XI replacing Ravichandran Ashwin.

The focus of the fans was on a huge battle that was set to unfold in New Delhi. It was round two between Naveen Ul Haq and Virat Kohli. The two players had a public showdown during the Bangalore versus Lucknow game during the IPL 2023 tournament.

Virat Kohli and Naveen Ul Haq (source- twitter)

Crowd chants for Virat Kohli at the arrival of Naveen Ul Haq –

Naveen Ul Haq came out to bat at the fall of Rashid Khan and there was tension building in the stadium. The moment Naveen stepped onto the field there was a chorus of chants calling out for Virat Kohli. Even Ravi Shastri who was in the commentary box at the time made note of this.

https://twitter.com/18PerthClassic/status/1712083731832516962?s=20

Virat Kohli wasn’t left behind as Naveen Ul Haq played his first ball and scampered back for two. The former Indian skipper threw the ball to the wicket-keeper’s end to a huge ovation from the crowd in New Delhi.

The Afghans did fairly well with the bat after a dismal show against Bangladesh on Saturday. Shahidi and his team managed to put 272/8 from their stipulated fifty overs. The captain led the way with the bat as he top-scored for his team. The Afghan skipper scored 80 runs off 88 balls with the help of 8 fours and a six.

Azmatullah played the perfect foil as he scored 62 runs off 69 balls with the help of two fours and 4 huge sixes. The Indian bowling charge was led by Virat Kohli who picked 4/39 from his ten overs. Mohammad Siraj had another shocking game giving away 76 runs from his 9 wicketless overs.