My favourite IPL moment is Virat Kohli’s wicket last season: Khaleel Ahmed

Khaleel Ahmed, the Indian fast bowler, was Sunrisers Hyderabad’s gun bowler in the 2019 Indian Premier League (IPL). Playing nine matches, the left-arm pacer picked up 19 wickets, though he was a tad expensive with an economy of 8.23. Among his scalps, Virat Kohli’s one remains to be his most favourite. In that game in Bengaluru, Khaleel picked up three wickets, conceding 37 runs.

Going down the memory lane, Khaleel recalled how he managed to get Kohli’s wicket after being put under pressure. In the first two balls of Ahmed’s over, Kohli fetched 10 runs with a four and a six. In the fifth ball of the over, Kohli went for an expansive drive through the covers. However, he could only get an outside-edge and Wriddhiman Saha took a simple catch behind.

That’s why we call him legend: Virat Kohli

“My favourite IPL moment is Virat bhai’s wicket last season. He had hit me for a four off the first delivery of my over and then he hit me for a six off the very next ball. That was a very good ball and he hit me for a classy six over mid-on. I had a big smile on my face. That’s why we call him legend,” Khaleel was quoted as saying in The Times of India (TOI).

“It was an amazing shot. I was under pressure. Bhuvi bhai had taken a wicket in the first over and the second over was given to me. I also wanted to take a wicket with the new ball. I kept my calm. I planned something in my mind and executed it well,” he added.

Apart from the Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper’s wicket, Khaleel also got rid of Gurkeerat Singh and Washington Sundar. Khaleel’s spell went in vain as the home team came out trumps by four wickets at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

RCB chased down 176 on the backs of Shimron Hetmyer’s 75 and Gurkeerat’s 65. As far as his career for India is concerned, he hasn’t donned the national jersey since the T20I series against Bangladesh in November 2019. In 11 ODIs and 14 T20Is, he has 15 and 13 wickets respectively.