Virat Kohli's Fielding Error In 3rd ODI Floods Ball-Maker's Insta Account

In a truly unbelievable turn of events that perfectly sums up the "passion" of Indian cricket fans, sports equipment manufacturers SG (Sanspareils Greenlands) and Kookaburra became the target of social media trolling after Sunday's ODI between India and New Zealand in Indore. Fans took to SG and Kookaburra's social media accounts and bombarded them with comments following a fumble in the field by Virat Kohli during the match. The incident occurred during a high-pressure phase of the New Zealand innings. Kohli, widely regarded as one of the best fielders in the world, uncharacteristically failed to cleanly grab the ball in the field.

While the miss was a rare lapse in concentration, the reaction from a section of his fanbase was beyond all possible realms of reality. Rather than critiquing the player, die-hard Kohli supporters took to the official Instagram account of SG and Kookaburra -- the companies that manufacture cricket balls for international series -- to vent their frustration.

The comments section of their recent posts was quickly flooded with bizarre demands and criticisms. Some fans blamed the texture of the ball for the fumble, while others went as far as to ask the company to "improve the grip" of their cricket balls so that Kohli wouldn't face such issues in the future.

Virat Kohli catch drop @imVkohli #TrendingNow #ViratKohli #viral #viralreels #viralpost pic.twitter.com/djxfS5CA0o

— Nitesh pandey (@NiteshPandeyTit) January 19, 2026

One fan commented, "Please work on the ball's surface. It's too slippery for King Kohli," while another wrote, "Fix your quality, your ball cost us a wicket today."

Virat Kohli fielding AFP
Photo Credit: AFP

This isn't the first case of absurd social media trolling by cricket fans. In March 2025, after New Zealand's Glenn Phillips took a stunning catch to dismiss Kohli in the Champions Trophy, fans famously mistakenly trolled the Instagram account of Philips, the electronics giant, demanding they "stop taking catches."

The social media trolling trend does indicate the fans' "player-first" loyalty, even if what they end up doing next crosses all limits of absurdity.

Despite the fielding lapse and the online drama, Kohli's primary contribution to the game remained his batting. He scored a magnificent 124 off 108 balls, his 54th ODI century, which kept India in the hunt for a massive 338-run target.

Ultimately, India fell short by 41 runs, leading to New Zealand's first-ever ODI series win on Indian soil. While the fans might blame the ball, the history books will record it as a landmark victory for the Kiwis and a rare moment where the "intensity" of the Indian outfield was matched only by the intensity of the comments section.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team New Zealand Cricket Team Virat Kohli India vs New Zealand 2026 Cricket