Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles is a big Virat Kohli fan. Last night, Kohli played a big hand in Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s second successive Indian Premier League win. There were also a couple of Australian players who made the win possible: Josh Hazlewood and Tim David.
Hazlewood bowled well and took two wickets while David played a nice cameo of 24 in the chase of 156 runs. Both Aussies played their parts to a tee on what was a memorable night for the Bengaluru-based franchise. Marles on Monday said that the fact that the Aussie players also did their bit was a perfect example of how Indians and Australians are working in tandem in today’s world, not just in cricket but also in other fields.
“When I was here last year, it was the morning after the final of the Indian Premier League, as it is, of course, this morning. Last night, as we saw a year ago, we saw RCB triumph. But I like the fact that Virat Kohli was 75 not out and was man of the match, but alongside him were Josh Hazlewood and Tim David. So there was very much an Australian-Indian bilateral theme at play last night as RCB won the IPL. And that is emblematic, I think, of the relationship between our two countries,” ANI reported Marles as saying.
Marles, speaking at a community event called “Manobal” in New Delhi, said Kohli is also very popular in Australia. He also invoked the name of former India left-arm spinner Bishan Bedi to highlight his long association with cricket. “Virat Kohli is a huge name in Australia right now, but as I grew up, the very first Indian cricket captain I remember was Bishan Bedi; they were the great names of that era. Everyone in this room is easily the most well-known person in Australia today. We have shared passions for things like cricket, but we also have shared challenges in the way in which we are going about leading the modern world.”
Fanboy moment for Marles!
1983 World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev was also at the event, and Marles couldn’t help but reveal that standing alongside Dev was kind of a fanboy moment for him. “It is quite a thrill for me to be standing next to the great Kapil Dev… The relationship between Australia and India is at a high point… In so many ways, the shared passion that we have for life is embodied in our passion for cricket,” Marles said.
