Kohli Refuses Handshake with Head After IPL Match

Hyderabad. After the IPL 2026 match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore held in Hyderabad on Friday, a strange scene was witnessed where Virat Kohli refused to shake hands with Travis Head. After the match ended, the players of both teams lined up to shake hands with each other as per the regular procedure. During that time, Kohli shook hands with Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins and Abhishek Sharma but ignored Head, who was standing with his hand outstretched right in front of him, and moved towards another player. It was also seen that there was a verbal altercation between Kohli and Head on the field while Bangalore was chasing the target. However, the reason for the dispute between them has not been clarified. In the match, Hyderabad, batting first, had prepared a huge total of 255 runs for the loss of 4 wickets. In response, Bangalore needed at least 166 runs to finish in the top two of the league table and at least 178 runs to secure the top position. Bangalore prioritized this equation over the two points they would get for winning the match and scored 200 runs for the loss of 4 wickets in the stipulated overs. Kohli, who came out to open the innings for Bangalore, scored 15 runs off 11 balls and was out to Shakib Hussain's ball in the last over of the powerplay. With this result, Bangalore will face Gujarat Titans, who are second in the league table, in Qualifier 1 in Dharamshala on May 26. Hyderabad, limited to third place, will play an eliminator match on May 27 in New Chandigarh. With three matches remaining in the league stage, the determination of the fourth playoff spot is still pending, for which Rajasthan Royals, Punjab Kings, and Kolkata Knight Riders are in the race.

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