Watch: Virat Kohli ignores Travis Head during post-match handshake

Hyderabad: Virat Kohli and Travis Head were involved in an altercation during the match in which Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by 55 runs. Kohli’s anger towards the Australian player reportedly continued even after the match, as he appeared to ignore Head during the post-match handshake. A video of the incident is rapidly going viral on social media, with many users criticising the Indian player’s behaviour.

The argument between Virat Kohli and Travis Head took place while Kohli was batting. Sunrisers Hyderabad won the toss and elected to bat first. Riding on explosive innings from Ishan Kishan (79), Abhishek Sharma (56), and Heinrich Klaasen, SRH posted a mammoth total of 255. In reply, Royal Challengers Bangalore could only manage 200.

Although the on-field exchange ended during the match, Kohli’s frustration appeared to continue afterwards. During the customary handshake line, Kohli shook hands with Pat Cummins. Travis Head then extended his hand, but Kohli appeared to move on without acknowledging him.

Chasing the target, RCB opened their innings with Virat Kohli and Venkatesh Iyer. Iyer played an explosive knock of 44 off 19 balls before being dismissed by Ishan Malinga. Kohli was later caught off Shakib Hussain after scoring 15 runs from 11 balls. Captain Rajat Patidar scored 56 off 39 balls, but Bengaluru eventually fell 55 runs short of the target.

Defending champions RCB finished first in the points table this year. GT and SRH, placed second and third respectively, also have 18 points each, but Bengaluru hold the best net run rate (+0.783) among the three teams. Bengaluru will now face Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 1, scheduled to be held in Dharamsala May 26.