Gurnoor Brar grabbed the spotlight during the fourth ODI between India and New Zealand at Mount Maunganui after delivering an animated send-off to Tim Seifert, prompting Virat Kohli to pull him back and prevent the situation from escalating.
Tensions flared at Mount Maunganui as India and New Zealand locked horns in a 50-over showdown on a bright Friday morning. Pacer Gurnoor Brar and opposition opener Tim Seifert were spotted in a tense exchange.
New Zealand got off to a fine start after India’s stand-in captain Shreyas Iyer chose to bowl first. Openers Seifert and Will Young gave the hosts the start they needed against a solid Indian bowling attack, making them sweat for wickets.
India eventually found a breakthrough on the final ball of the 12th over when Brar dismissed Seifert with a razor-sharp bouncer, and the batter only got a top edge, sending the ball flying. Ishan Kishan’s quality fielding took care of the rest.
Brar delivers animated send-off, Kohli pulls him back
Brar, who was trying to get under the skin of Kiwi batters, delivered an animated send-off to Seifert and celebrated right in front of him as the batter was making his way back. To everyone’s surprise, Kohli pulled Brar back to avoid further escalation.
Given his past heated on-field confrontations and heated exchanges, it was rather surprising to see Kohli de-escalating the matter.
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On-field umpire Chris Brown walked towards Brar and warned the fast bowler not to take his aggression beyond limits.
Brar’s strong celebration came after enduring an expensive spell, conceding 14 runs in a powerplay over. Seifert was particularly aggressive against him with the bat as well, smashing a six and two fours in the over.
Seifert had put up a solid knock, 58 off 48 deliveries at a strike rate of 120.83. His batting spell also included six boundaries and three sixes.
Brar’s inclusion has heavily benefited India
Brar’s inclusion has been one of the biggest success stories in India’s ODI format.
In the ongoing New Zealand series, he clinched seven wickets in the first two matches — 3/44 in the 1st ODI and a career-best 4/30 in the 2nd ODI — making perfect use of his tall height and bringing out the added bounce in NZ’s surfaces.
In the 4th ODI, New Zealand got off to a strong start, but India managed to clinch some key wickets to bring some resistance to their momentum as the match continues.