Women's Premier League 2024

'Bro thinks he is SRK of Chak De India' - Virat Kohli's pep talk for Bangalore Women ahead of their 1st WTL win against UP invites trolls

Virat Kohli's pep talk paid off as Bangalore Women registered their first win of the tournament against UP.

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Akshay
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Virat Kohli & Bangalore Women's Team

Virat Kohli & Bangalore Women's Team (Image source: Twitter)

Virat Kohli & Bangalore Women's Team Virat Kohli & Bangalore Women's Team (Image source: Twitter)

Bangalore's wait is finally over as they registered their maiden win in the Women's T20 League with a five-wicket victory over UP at the DY Patil Sports Academy on Wednesday. Chasing a modest total, Kanika Ahuja and Richa Ghosh played a determined knock for the Karnataka-based franchise to cross the target with two overs to spare. After losing their first five matches in a row, Smriti Mandhana's side broke the jinx in the crucial encounter, but that did not give them confirmation of qualifying for the eliminators.

Meanwhile, ahead of the match against UP, former Bangalore men's team captain Virat Kohli imparted his knowledge to the players. The franchise's Twitter handle shared a post about Kohli's interaction with Women in Red after their first win of the tournament.

“How to turn a Setback into a Comeback – who better to talk about this! Extremely grateful to
@imVkohli for spending time with the team and motivating them before today’s match!,” the tweet read.

Kohli, who is gearing up for the one-day series against Australia starting on Friday, March, 17, has led his franchise for years but failed to win the coveted crown. However, the ace batter is a crowd puller with his batting prowess and is one of the main reasons why Bangalore have a huge fan base despite not winning the title yet. As his franchise said, Kohli is known for bouncing back from setbacks and his motivational speech to the women that it is important to walk with your head held high even after failing to enter the playoffs recorded their first victory.

In the video shared by the franchise, Kohli said: "Bangalore still has 1% chance, important thing is what players think about 1%, make 1% to 10% then to 30% & something magical might happen, even if nothing happens, walking head high after 3 games is really important as well, build character in you for next season."

Mandhana's poor form continues

Talking about the match, Bangalore bowlers gave them a dream start by taking three wickets in 2 overs. With wickets falling at regular intervals, UP were restricted to 135 runs in 20 overs. Grace Harris scored 46 off 32 balls and was the lone fighter for UP. Star all-rounder Ellyse Perry took three wickets in her four overs, while Sophie Devine and Asha Shobana took two wickets each.

For Bangalore, skipper Mandhana once again failed to play an impressive innings in the tournament as she departed for a 3-ball duck. Their batters made the chase more difficult than it should have been, but Ahuja and Ghosh played a blistering knock to taste their first win.

Here's how fans reacted to Virat Kohli's pep talk: 

Virat Kohli Women's T20 League 2023 Bangalore Smriti Mandhana