On June 3, Royal Challengers Bengaluru ended a 18-year draught to win their maiden IPL trophy at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium. This emotional win was special for Virat Kohli, who finally tasted IPL glory.
As the win was sealed, the legend dropped to his knees, teary-eyed as his teammates rushed to him to hug him. His wife, Anushka Sharma, also hugged him and laughed with him as the moment finally arrived.
There was a moment after the match that melted cricket fans. Virat Kohli joyfully ran and jumped into former India coach Ravi Shastri’s arms. Shastri is known for having a special camaraderie with Virat Kohli.
RCB fans praised the moment; some of them called Shastri the man who always backed Kohli.
“Nobody will believe he has two kids,” wrote a social media user about Kohli’s childlike behaviour.
“I’m not crying you’re crying,” came from another.
“The best Coach & captain,” commented a user while another wrote, “The fatherly figure he got in cricket.”
“This just warms my heart,” reacted another.
Another remarked, “That shows what it meant after waiting for 18 years.”
“Feels like father-son bond,” said another.
Ravi Shastri and Virat Kohli
Ravi Shastri was Team Director for India between August 2014 and April 2016. Kohli began his Test captaincy during this period.
Anil Kumble was appointed head coach in June 2016. During his mentorship, Kohli beame Team India’s ODI captain in January 2017.
However, reports of a rift between Kohli and Kumble emerged in May 2017 shortly after the Champions Trophy. Kumble stepped down as Head Coach in June 2017 allegedly due to a clash with Kohli over his style of coaching.
Ravi Shastri became Head Coach in July 2017. There was wide speculation that Kohli had a big role to play in Shastri’s selection.
With Kohli as the captain and Shastri as Head Coach), it was arguably the golden age for Indian Test cricket, especially overseas.
During this period, Virat Kohli became India’s most successful Test captain, with 40 wins in 68 Tests. India achieved their first-ever Test series win in Australia in 2018-19, and then repeated the feat in 2020-21.
India consistently topped the World Test Championship points table during their tenure, reaching the inaugural WTC final in 2021.
Under Kohli-Shastri, India became a top team in Tests, winning series in Sri Lanka, West Indies and England. They held the No. 1 Test ranking for a long time.
In ODIs and T20Is, India won home and away, including their first ODI series wins in South Africa and New Zealand. They also reached the 2019 World Cup semi-finals.
