Shah Rukh Khan and Rishabh Pant's emotional post-match meeting was one of the highlights of the IPL 2024 game between Kolkata and Delhi in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday, April 3. Shah Rukh was as thrilled as every other Indian cricket fan to meet a fit-again Pant as he shared a warm hug and kissed the wicketkeeper-batter on his forehead in a heartwarming gesture. The television cameras did not pan out of the visuals involving Shah Rukh and Pant as the two superstars were engaged in a lengthy chat.
The mutual admiration was evident as both Shah Rukh and Rishabh Pant were thrilled throughout the duration of the conversation. Pant, who was sitting on the field after the post-match duties, spotted Shah Rukh approach him and was about to get up on his feet when the Bollywood superstar urged him not to, acknowledging the cricketer's incredible battle to regain full fitness after the road accident.
Shah Rukh and other members of the KKR ownership group had a lengthy chat with Pant before Shreyas Iyer joined the conversation. The Bollywood star, who was in Vizag on Wednesday, spent more than 15 minutes on the ground, meeting and greeting each and every member of the two teams.
Kolkata rose to the top of the IPL 2024 points table after posting 272, the second-highest total in the history of the IPL. Delhi were bundled out for 166 in 17.2 overs as the 106-run win helped KKR to boost their Net Run Rate to an impressive +2.518.
The happiness was evident in the KKR co-owner's face as Shah Rukh Khan took time out to embrace mentor Gautam Gambhir and head coach Chandrakant Pandit. Shah Rukh spent a lot of time chatting with Kuldeep Yadav, a former Knight Rider, after he patted Khaleel Ahmed on the back and seemingly urged him to continue his good work with the new ball for Delhi.
Rishabh Pant was sensational with the bat as he hit 5 sixes and 4 boundaries for his 25-ball 55, his second successive fifty. Pant had scored a quickfire 51 against Chennai, which proved key to Delhi's only win of the season so far. However, his fluent knock on Wednesday went in vain as Delhi folded for 166 in their quota of 20 overs.
Earlier in the day, Sunil Narine smashed a 37-ball 85 as he showed the world that he is a capable pinch-hitter at the top of the order in T20s. 18-year-old Angkrish Raghuvanshi also let his bat do the talking, hitting a 27-ball 54 in his first outing in IPL cricket before Andre Russell and Rinku Singh came with cameos to help KKR post the Himalayan total in Vizag.
