Bengaluru, May 18 (HS): The excitement of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 resumed on Saturday with a match between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). However, the match was canceled due to heavy rain. As a result of the cancellation, both teams were awarded one point each. Following this, KKR was eliminated from the playoff race, while the Bengaluru team topped the points table.
Although the match at Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium couldn’t take place, the home team RCB’s fans came in large numbers to see their favorite player, Virat Kohli. Fans were seen wearing white jerseys with the number 18, but due to the rain, they couldn’t watch their beloved player play.
In fact, Virat Kohli was set to take the field for the first time on Saturday after recently retiring from Test cricket, prompting fans to come in white jerseys to pay special tribute to him at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
RCB shared a video on their social media account on X, showing the large number of fans who had come to support Virat, captioning it, “Chinnaswamy turned white – a tribute to King Kohli’s Test career.”
The franchise further mentioned that the fans, who came in large numbers to pay an emotional tribute to Virat Kohli’s remarkable Test career, were wrapped in white outfits – chanting and holding special banners, making it a historic moment in the game, celebrating the legacy of the world’s most beloved cricketer, Virat Kohli.
An astonishing sight in the sky
A video has quickly gone viral on social media. In the video, a flock of white doves can be seen flying over M. Chinnaswamy Stadium during the rain. Following this, fans remarked, Look, these white birds have also come to the stadium to pay tribute to Kohli. The team also shared this moment of the flock in their video.
Retirement from Test cricket
Former captain and star batsman of the Indian team, Virat Kohli, announced his retirement from Test cricket on May 12. To honor him, fans in Bengaluru came wearing white, signifying the Test jersey, with Kohli’s name on it.
Virat Kohli has played a total of 123 Test matches, scoring 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85. In Tests, Virat has 30 centuries and 31 half-centuries to his name.
Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
