The ninth match of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 between India and Afghanistan in Delhi on Wednesday (October 11) witnessed a heartwarming moment.

India’s star batter Virat Kohli and Afghanistan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq, who were involved in a heated altercation during the IPL 2023 season, buried the hatched as they were seen shaking hands and sharing a hug.

This was their first face-off after that ugly spat and Naveen was greeted "Kohli, Kohli" chants when he came out to bat and bowl at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

However, cameras captured the wholesome moment between the two players during India’s innings, much to the delight of the fans.

After the game, Naveen-ul-Haq said the matter never went beyond the boundary ropes and also hailed Virat Kohli as a nice guy.

“Crowd will chant for their home cricketers and that is what they did. It is his (Kohli’s) home ground. He is a nice guy, a good player and we shook hands.

“It (what happened) was always in the ground, it was nothing outside the ground. People make it big. They need that stuff for their followers. He said (today) ‘we are done with that and I said yes we are done with that. We shook hands and hugged,” Naveen told PTI.

The Afghanistan cricketer has already announced his retirement from the 50-over format following the World Cup.

Talking about his retirement plans, Naveen said: “To be honest more international bowlers will opt out of ODI cricket because there is not much balance between bat and ball. I wish I would have played more ODI cricket but it is what it is.”

Coming to the match, India registered a crushing eight-wicket victory over Afghanistan. It was their second successive win in the showpiece event and a real confidence booster ahead of the marquee clash against arch-rivals Pakistan.

Chasing 273 to win, the Men in Blue rode on Rohit Sharma’s whirlwind century (131 off 84 balls) and handy contributions from Virat Kohli (55*) and Ishan Kishan (47) to overhaul the target with 15 overs to spare.

(With PTI Inputs)