Watch: Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir's war of words after match turns hostile; BCCI takes action for breaching IPL code of conduct

On Monday, RCB clinched victory against Lucknow Super Giants. Despite a low score Royal Challengers Bangalore ended with Faf du Plessis' men securing an 18-run victory in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

However, instead of RCB's epic win becoming the central talking point was the ugly verbal spat between two one of the most eminent cricketers Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir. The two cricketing stalwarts had a heated war of words after the match over specific incidents that took place during the final phase of the match.

As soon as the match between LSG V RCB ended, the spat sparked a meme fest on social media, not just that, BCCI took strict action against Virat Kohli, Gautam Gambhir and Naveen-ul-Haq for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct.

Here's what led to a heated war of words

After winning, the RCB stalwart was seen jumping in joy and screaming, fist-pumping and even putting a finger on his lips and then asking the crowd not to keep quiet. It was a reply to Gambhir's 'shushing' gesture after the last-ball thriller in Bangalore.

When players of both sides lined up for the customary handshakes, Kohli once again exchanged a few words with Naveen and the Afghanistan pacer was seen brushing off Kohli after an aggressive handshake. LSG opener Kyle Mayers was then seen having a conversation with Kohli when Gambhir came and took the left-hander away. This did not seem to go down too well with Kohli who walked away after a death stare.

Gambhir was not in a good mood and was seen hurling a mouthful at Kohli. During the exchange, LSG bowler Naveen-ul-Haq and Kohli exchanged words, which led to Gambhir pulling away his side's opening batter Kyle Mayers from a chat with Kohli.

Gambhir then approached Kohli aggressively with his players, including the injured captain KL Rahul, restraining him. However, Kohli seemed to be trying to pacify Gambhir with his hand on Gambhir's shoulder, but the conversation soon turned hostile.

The duo was separated by Amit Mishra and others. However, all his efforts went futile as the field was raging with arguments and the winning streak died down to discussions over the verbal spat.

In some of the clips that are surfacing the internet, Kohli was then seen having a lengthy chat with Rahul. The LSG captain tried to call his Afghanistan pacer Naveen possibly to end the matter mutually, but he walked away. Kohli once again mouthed a few words before continuing his conversation with Rahul.

What happened during the match?

Kohli had a heated exchange with Naveen during the 17th over of the chase when the game was all but over. Amit Mishra and an umpire had to intervene and calm the situation.

IPL code of conduct

"Lucknow Super Giants' Mentor Gautam Gambhir has been fined 100 per cent of his match fee for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Gambhir admitted to the Level 2 offence under Article 2.21 of the IPL Code of Conduct.

"Royal Challengers Bangalore batter Virat Kohli has been fined 100 per cent of his match fee for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match against Lucknow Super Giants. Kohli admitted to the Level 2 offence under Article 2.21 of the IPL Code of Conduct," IPL said in a release late on Monday night.

"Lucknow Super Giants' bowler Naveen-ul-Haq has been fined 50 per cent of his match fees for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Naveen-ul-Haq admitted to the Level 1 offence under Article 2.21 of the IPL Code of Conduct," IPL said.

On Tuesday, after BCCI punished Kohli, Naveen Ul Haq's shared his latest Instagram story and gave a subtle hint about what happened post-match.

Twitter users are divided, some of them were seen blaming Gautam Gambhir for aggression while some were of the view that Virat Kohli has once again grabbed headlines for her anger issues and behaviour.

Take a look.