Virat Kohli hugging Mohammad Rizwan after the historic T20 Pakistan v India match on Sunday left fans adoring the Indian cricket team captain’s sportsman spirit on both sides of the border.
Pakistan beat India by ten wickets on Sunday in a match that sent an uproar of celebrations through the country. Considered a cutthroat match due to the generally unfavorable diplomatic relations between the two neighbouring countries, Kohli’s gesture at Pakistan’s victory was appreciated widely. After the winning run, Kohli approached cricket team captain Babar Azam and Rizwan to congratulate the iconic duo that carried the match through to the end. Kohli smiled and warmly embraced an elated Rizwan, the digital memory of which has been doing rounds on social media.
Journalist Naimat Khan said that Azam had won the match, but Kohli had won hearts with his gesture.
بابر نے میچ جیتا، کوہلی نے دل جیت لیے!
— Naimat Khan (@NKMalazai) October 24, 2021
Cricket commentator Aatif Nawaz said that Kohli was the first Indian player to congratulate the batsmen after their big win. Nawaz furthered that there was ‘grace’ on both sides of the border and that no one should fuel hate.
Virat Kohli was the first person to walk over and congratulate the Pakistani batters on their win. There's grace & respect on both sides of the border. Don't let anyone guide you to hate. Here's to a positive relationship in the future between these 2 nations 🇵🇰🤝🇮🇳#T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/F360ZWkR4F
— Aatif Nawaz (@AatifNawaz) October 24, 2021
Cricketer Haroon said that the moment was amazing to witness and that there was a need for more India-Pakistan cricket matches.
Seeing Virat Kohli hug Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan at the end was so amazing to see. We need to see more Pakistan/India cricket🤩 #T20WorldCup
— Haroon (@hazharoon) October 24, 2021
Filmmaker Salmaan Peerzada said that Kohli made a great gesture of ‘friendship and sportsman spirit’.
Indian captain Virat Kohli and Pakistani captain Babar Azam hug each other after fantastic Pakistani victory. World Cup 2021 Dubai. Great to see friendship and sportsman spirit. https://t.co/1zy3pp8MgX
— Salmaan Peerzada (@salmaan_peer) October 24, 2021
Law graduate Zameer Ahmad Malik said that Kohli’s demeanour deserved a standing ovation.
I have always been a fan of @imVkohli but this gesture deserves standing ovation for this brilliant sportsman. https://t.co/XGIgciRzGg
— Zameer Ahmed Malik (@ZameerAMalik) October 24, 2021
Journalist Rauf Klasra said that Kohli was the face of ‘grace’.
If grace has a face—#ViratKohli pic.twitter.com/7D2oxqOzKZ
— Rauf Klasra (@KlasraRauf) October 24, 2021
Kohli was also praised across the border as Indian film director Ram Gopal Varma appreciated him taking the high road in congratulating Pakistan. Varma said that Kohli demonstrated true sportsman spirit instead of ‘succumbing to false pride’.
Kudos to @imVkohli for praising the opponents in a true sportsman spirit instead of succumbing to false pride 💐💐💐💪💪💪
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) October 24, 2021
Pakistan beat India in the landmark victory, which was a first in a T20 format. Pakistan made 152 runs, with 13 balls remaining to boot. This was Pakistan’s 13th attempt to defeat India in the T20 series. Azam and Rizwan were the only batsmen on the field who completed the runs required to win, while Shaheen Afridi became the Man of the Match for his bowling prowess.