India's batting superstar Virat Kohli knows a thing or two about winning people's hearts. His fans love him for his batting as well as his overall persona. Who Virat is beyond the boundary ropes is what makes him even more popular among his fans. His onfield antics and gestures are something that the camerapersons at the ground love to catch and for the same reason, one dedicated camera is always on Kohli because he will never fail to surprise you.
On Day 1 of the second Test between India and South Africa at Newlands, Cape Town, Kohli was spotted doing something which again caught the attention of the camera crew and they quickly fixed their lenses on the star cricketer. This was during South Africa's 1st innings when Keshav Maharaj came in to bat at the fall of the seventh wicket.
It has become a trend in South Africa that whenever Maharaj, a hindu-born cricketer playing for Proteas Men, comes to bat in South Africa, the DJ plays 'Ram Siya Ram' song. Maharaj is a Lord Hanuman and Ram Bhakt (devotee) and the DJs ensure that their cricketer gets the much-needed boost to do well on the pitch. In a previous white-ball match, wicketkeeper KL Rahul had told Maharaj that they always play this song when he comes to bat and the South Africa had acknowledged that.
On Wednesday, the same thing happened as Newslands DJ played the 'Ram Siya Ram' song after which Kohli made a heartwarming gesture of shooting an arrow using a bow, just like Lord Ram. Kohli is himself a very religious guy and this act of his displayed his immense faith in the idea of Lord Ram, who stands for immense patience, bravery, sacrifice and inclusivity. Kohli then folded his hands to pray for a second and then moved on to the game. That was a very good moment on a day when 23 wickets tumbled in the Test match.
Virat Kohli paying tribute to Shri Ram When DJ was playing " Ram Siya Ram " song in Centurion when Keshav Maharaj cm to bat.
— Dr. Ladla __ (@SonOfChoudhary) January 3, 2024
Virat is A entertainer_#JaiShreeRam #RamShiyaRam #Ayodhya #EpsteinClientList #ViratKohli #INDvsSA @CricCrazyJohns @mufaddal_vohra pic.twitter.com/gH1NWO8zpt
The gesture has won the internet as the followers of Lord Ram are happy to see that Kohli is propagating the idea of the hindu god on the global stage like this.
Coming to the game, it was a crazy day of Test cricket in Cape Town as 23 wickets fell. After winning the toss, South Africa chose to bat first but the decision backfired as India bundled them out for just 55 in the first innings. However, it got tough for Indians too, who got bowled out for just 154, losing six wickets in succession at the same score. They made an unwanted record too of losing six wickets without scoring a run in Tests. At Stumps on Day 1, SA trailed by 36 runs in the 2nd innings at 62 for 3 with David Bedingham and Aiden Markram in the middle.