Kohli and Gambhir were hit with hefty fines after their ugly altercation.

On Monday night, Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir added a new chapter to their bitter rivalry.

Following the Royal Challengers Bangalore's victory over the Lucknow Super Giants, batsman Virat Kohli got into a heated argument with team manager Gambhir and Naveen-ul-Haq of the LSG.

 

For violating the IPL code of Conduct, Gambhir and Kohli were fined 100% of their match fee.

Both Gambhir and Kohli have admitted to the Level 2 offense under Article 2.21 of the IPL Code of Conduct, according to the BCCI statement.

Naveen-ul-Haq, a bowler for LSG, was also fined 50% of his match fee for violating the IPL Code of Conduct. The left-arm seamer has acknowledged committing the Level 1 infraction.

In an unsuccessful attempt to help his team win, KL Rahul batted through a leg injury as Royal Challengers Bangalore bowled Lucknow Super Giants out for 108. When a wicket fell during the LSG innings, Kohli made his customary animated gestures to celebrate.

Former India international Robin Uthappa would say on air, "It's unworthy of the game."

After what appeared to be in-game sledging between Kohli and Lucknow's Naveen-ul-Haq when the latter came to bat during the chase, the incident appears to have started. The two players had to be separated after RCB's victory in an emotionally charged match after a conversation during the handshakes took an ugly turn.

It wasn't the first time Kohli and Gambhir had an argument during an IPL match, either. They had a confrontation in 2013 during an RCB-KKR match, when Gambhir was the latter team's captain.

Anil Kumble, a former RCB captain, expressed displeasure with the behavior displayed. "A lot of emotion is present in (the game), but you shouldn't show it. Yes, you need to talk to someone, but this behavior is unacceptable. You must always show respect to the opposition. The game must be respected.

For context, the Bangalore home crowd was instructed to keep quiet after LSG's narrow victory in the previous matchup between the two teams last month by Lucknow team coach Gambhir. On this particular occasion, Kohli not only kissed the Lucknow supporters when their team lost a wicket, but he also imitated Gambhir by putting his finger to his lips.

Following Monday's game, Royal Challengers Bangalore is in fifth place, followed by Lucknow Super Giants in third place.Massive fines levied against Kohli and Gambhir following ugly altercation