India cricketer Virat Kohli was also gripped with the ‘Naatu Naatu’ song fever, as he was seen doing the hook step of the Oscar Award winning song during the ongoing first ODI between India and Australia being played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
The match, the first of the three-ODI series sees Steve Smith captaining Australia in place of Pat Cummins and Hardik Pandya leading India in place of Rohit Sharma, who is missing this encounter due to personal commitments.
Hardik Pandya won the toss and chose to bowl first, while Steve Smith revealed that David Warner was not fit enough to play in this match and keeper Alex Carey had returned home after falling sick and Josh Inglis will keep wickets.
During the first ODI against Australia on Friday, Kohli was spotted doing the hook step of the song ‘Naatu Naatu’. Since the RRR’s success at the Oscars, the song’s popularity has shot through the roof. Kohli, who has become a slip specialist of sorts, was seen doing the hook step of the song, leading the cheers from the crowd.
Here is the video:
Virat naatu naatu step vesthunadu ga @tarak9999 @AlwaysRamCharan @imVkohli#NaatuNaatu pic.twitter.com/3sLOIYiUMT
— AK🐾 (@Arun_2_) March 17, 2023
It Is A Good Track And Dew Factor Will Be There: Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya made his ODI captaincy debut after being named the official vice-captain of the side, replacing KL Rahul. With Rohit Sharma missing the first ODI, Pandya came out for the toss with Steve Smith.
Earlier during the press conference on the eve of the match, Pandya had confirmed that Shubman Gill will open the innings with Ishan Kishan in Rohit’s absence.
After winning the toss and choosing to bowl, Hardik Pandya said: “It is a good track and dew factor will be there. We feel we will do well in the second innings. I got some time off, breaks are like gold dust for me so it gave me a chance to rest and improve. Playing for India every game and every format is important. With this being a WC year, the ODI format is important. We’ve gone with four quicks – Shardul, Shami, myself and Siraj. Two spinners in Jadeja and Kuldeep.”