The Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru clash in the IPL 2024 on Friday has a separate sub plot. The Kolkata Knight Riders are being mentored by Gautam Gambhir while Virat Kohli is one of the batting mainstays of RCB. The two share quite a bit of history. The last time the duo faced each other at the IPL 2023, it made for one of the lasting images in Indian cricket. Last year, Gambhir was associated with Lucknow Super Giants and after a match against RCB, had a heated on-field argument with Virat Kohli.

Both of them were heavily fined after that incident. That was not the first on-field altercation between the two. Now, with the duo again coming face to face in a cricket match, KKR couldn’t help but post two interesting photos. KKR posted the photos, with the caption: “Cricket images that hit hard.” In one of the photos, Kohli can be seen towards the direction of  Gambhir.

Cricket images that hit hard pic.twitter.com/QYf5LanzYQ

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) March 29, 2024

Peeche Dekho Peeche pic.twitter.com/6M40rfbZQe

— (@Vk18xCr7) March 29, 2024

In a chat with Star Sports ahead of the Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers match, India star pacer Varun Aaron said that he is eagerly looking forward to the match-up outside the boundary rope, hinting at the Kohli vs Gambhir duel.

“I don’t want to stir anything but I’m looking forward to the match-up outside the boundary line. Gautam Gambhir is going to be there right beside the Bengaluru dug-out, I don’t know what’s going to happen there. We know Virat likes to have fire in his belly and if he just looks at the Kolkata dug-out, he’s going to get fired up,” said Aaron.

Gambhir and Kohli famously clashed during an RCB vs Lucknow Super Giants match in IPL 2023. Kohli initially locked horns with LSG’s Naveen-ul-Haq before Gambhir went into the ground and had a verbal war with the former.

On the chaotic episode, Gambhir had said last year: “It is not about Naveen-ul-Haq. I would have defended any player, that is my job, that is how I am. Why should I not defend my players just because someone has a broadcaster working for him, left right and centre, someone who has more social media presence doesn’t have any right to walk over someone.”