India cricketer Virat Kohli and Afghanistan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq ended their rivalry on the field on Wednesday when the two players shook hands and hugged it out during their ICC World Cup 2023 match in Delhi.
Kohli in fact, even asked the crowd at the Arun Jaitley Stadium to stop mocking and teasing Naveen when he was fielding on the boundary line at long-on.
Kohli, who was at the non-striker's end at the time, made the gesture to stop the crowd from booing Naveen, who realised what the former India skipper did and came over to give him a hug.
Notably, Naveen was being teased with "Kohli, Kohli" chants by the spectators when he came out to bat and when he was fielding on the boundary line.
The moment was captured on camera by a fan who posted it on social media.
Notably, Naveen was being teased with "Kohli, Kohli" chants by the spectators when he came out to bat and when he was fielding on the boundary line.
Background of the Kohli-Naveen rivalry
The rivalry between Kohli and Naveen started from IPL 2023 during a match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lucknow Super Giants.
Following the on-field altercation, Naveen took to social media to taunt Kohli, especially when he was going through a rough patch with the bat.
As this rivalry continued to intensify, fans anxiously awaited Kohli's showdown with Naveen in Delhi in the hopes of another spicy battle between the legendary Indian batter and the mercurial Afghan pacer.
But the script completely changed during the match as Kohli not only asked the crowd to stop teasing Naveen but they also hugged out their differences at the India legend's home ground.
India crush Afghanistan in Delhi
Meanwhile, India completely decimated Afghanistan by 8 wickets in their second match of the ODI World Cup to take second position on the points table.
Rohit Sharma smashed 131 while Kohli remained unbeaten on 55 as India chased down the target of 273 with 15 overs to spare.
Earlier, India's premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah starred with the ball, picking a four-wicket haul to help restrict Afghanistan to 272 for 8 in 50 overs.
