‘Kohli, Kohli’: Haris Rauf tries his best to blank out noise after being reminded of his worst nightmare by fans - Watch

The flames are on, and the air is charged with competitiveness in the ongoing Super Four match between India and Pakistan. Pakistan batted first in the game and posted 171 runs on the board after a solid start. Loss in momentum led them to fall 15-20 runs short of what could have been a winning total.

However, it was a competitive total, and Pakistan could have put India on the back foot if they picked up a couple of early wickets. That hope was nipped in the bud by the Indian openers as they brought down the bats like Thor’s hammer from the beginning of the chase. Abhishek Sharma started off with a first-ball six and continued with fluency from there on. At the other end, Shubman Gill treated the spectators with class and grace that remains unparalleled in contemporary cricket.

The attack from the Indian openers made the Pakistan bowlers lose their plot completely. They started trying to instigate the Indian batters with words. However, the duo looked unfazed by these and continued with supreme grace and poise. While Shaheen Afridi started the cheap games, Haris Rauf also joined the whole scene. There were some intense scenes of pointing fingers and a heated exchange of words in the middle.

Crowd rubs salt to Rauf’s injury

The Indian crowd stood up for their players and took out their wrath on Haris Rauf when he went to field near the fence, which had more Indian supporters. The spectators started chanting the name of Virat Kohli. This seemed to be a reminder of the otherworldly shot that the Indian maestro hit against Rauf during the India vs Pakistan clash in Melbourne during the 2022 T20 World Cup.

Rauf also tried to give a reply to the crowd with his gesture. He started brushing off his ear, showing that he couldn't care less. Notably, Kohli belted Rauf over mid-off for a maximum on the back foot of a back-of-length delivery. A shot many experts have deemed impossible, if not for the class of the batter. Kohli slammed the next delivery for a six too, and this turned the game in Melbourne in what later panned out as one of the greatest T20I matches ever played; Kohli’s knock was one of the best by a batter.

The Indian crowd took the chance to remind Rauf of India’s maestro that day. With the Indian openers hitting the Pakistan pacers mercilessly, this was just there to add salt to Rauf’s injury. However, Rauf did hurt India with the precious wicket of Suryakumar Yadav, who had to walk back without troubling the scorers.

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