May 23 (Reuters) - Tempers flared between Virat Kohli and Travis Head in the Indian Premier League, as the former Indian captain refused to shake hands with the Australian batter after Head's Sunrisers Hyderabad handed Kohli's Royal Challengers Bengaluru a crushing 55-run defeat.
The two exchanged heated words when Kohli opened for Bengaluru, looking to chase down a daunting target of 256. During the exchange, a visibly angry Kohli was seen gesturing towards Head to come and bowl.
Kohli also mockingly made the "impact player" substitution gesture, a reference to Head, who is primarily a batter, often being replaced by Hyderabad for a specialist bowler after the Australian finishes batting.
Head did not have much time to take Kohli up on his invite, as the Bengaluru opener fell soon after, scoring 15 off 11 balls. The Australian, however, bowled an over later in the game and dismissed Bengaluru captain Rajat Patidar.
As the teams lined up to shake hands after the match, Head held out his hand but Kohli looked straight ahead and walked past him.
Friday's win left third-placed Hyderabad on equal points with Bengaluru, but Kohli's side remained top of the table with a superior net run rate. Both teams have qualified for the IPL playoffs starting Wednesday.
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Kim Coghill)
