Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli paid tribute to India’s first Oscar-winning song, ‘Naatu Naatu,’ by recreating the legendary dance movements during the opening ODI against Australia at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. The song, from the Telugu movie ‘RRR’, won the ‘Best Original Song’ award at the 2023 Academy Awards, becoming the first Indian production to achieve this feat in history.
Following the victory, Kohli performed the song’s iconic dancing steps on the ground when Australia was batting. Moreover, notable Indian icons like as Sunil Gavaskar, Harbhajan Singh, and Suresh Raina followed suit and joined the trend.
Watch here:
Virat naatu naatu step vesthunadu ga @tarak9999 @AlwaysRamCharan @imVkohli#NaatuNaatu pic.twitter.com/3sLOIYiUMT
— AK🐾 (@Arun_2_) March 17, 2023
Despite Kohli’s efforts, the Indian team struggled with the bat during the match, losing five wickets before reaching the 100-run mark while chasing a total of 189. However, the Indian pace attack put in a stellar performance, with both Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami taking three wickets each. Ravindra Jadeja also took two scalps, while Kuldeep Yadav and Hardik Pandya chipped in with one each. Mitchell Marsh’s impressive 81 runs in 65 balls gave Australia a good start before their middle order collapsed.
India won the toss and chose to bowl first, with Hardik Pandya leading the team in Rohit Sharma‘s absence due to personal reasons. While Kohli may have had a forgettable day with the bat, his tribute to ‘Naatu Naatu’ was a reminder of India’s success at the Oscars and its rich cultural heritage.