AB de Villiers retorts to the critics of Kohli after his blistering knock against CSK
His former teammate, South African star AB de Villiers, has taken a bold stand against Virat Kohli’s critics, particularly targeting remarks made by legends Sunil Gavaskar and Virender Sehwag. After Kohli’s sparkling 62-run innings against Chennai Super Kings, helping Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to a narrow two-run victory and the top of the IPL points table, De Villiers remarked, “Virat is always there. He is Mr. Safety for RCB. When he is there, you don’t have to fear. Never fear when Virat is near. That is the story. Nothing has ever changed, and what I want to tell all of you media people, I haven’t forgotten. I have the brain of an elephant. To all my journalist friends out there, I love you guys. But remember when you said Virat bats too slow, right? Virat was batting at almost a 200-strike rate last night. Eat that.” In an Instagram post, Gavaskar and Sehwag questioned Kohli’s strike rate. Sehwag had notably criticized Kohli for scoring the joint-slowest century in IPL history, suggesting he should have accelerated after reaching his half-century. Gavaskar, too, had engaged in a well-documented back-and-forth with Kohli over his scoring pace. Kohli’s performance this season has been nothing short of stellar. He has surpassed the 500-run mark in an IPL season for a record eighth time, amassing 505 runs in 11 innings at a strike rate of 143.47. His tally of seven fifty-plus scores is his third-best in an IPL season, following 11 such scores in 2016 and eight in 2023. This dominance has placed him at the forefront of the Orange Cap race, narrowly leading over Gujarat Titans’ Sai Sudharsan.
Love for RCB? Or a new business approach? Content creator’s entertaining poster across Bangalore; ‘Donate Rs 10 for RCB’
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) remains one of the most talked-about franchises, with a massive fan base and some of the biggest names in cricket. Still, the franchise has yet to win an IPL title, and its struggle has become both a rallying cry and a meme. Riding that wave of fandom and humor, content creator Sarthak Sachdeva devised a social experiment that quickly went viral. He printed QR codes linked to his payment account with the words “Donate Rs.10 for RCB Goodluck” and pasted them across public places, walls, poles, and random street corners. The video starts with Sarthak quietly sticking the QR codes around the city. What begins as a seemingly silly idea takes a surprising turn as people actually start noticing the codes, scanning them, and making payments, all for the love of RCB or perhaps just for the laugh. By the end of the day, he had received Rs.1,200 from random strangers. The quirky video racked up 3.5 million views online. Many took to the comments section to react. A user wrote, ‘Naya business idea.’ Another added, “Iske baad agr RCB na jeete toh ro dungi” RCB is currently second on the points table with 7 wins from 10 matches, all of which have come in away games, a testament to their ability to perform under pressure. However, their only losses this season have been at home, raising concerns as they enter the final stretch of the league. With four matches left, including three at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, RCB will need to overcome their inconsistent home record to maintain momentum.
