Over the past few months, look-alike contests have been gaining popularity worldwide, featuring competitions for stars like Timothée Chalamet, Zayn Malik, India’s Virat Kohli, and K-pop sensation Jeon Jungkook of BTS. As this trend continued, it was time for NCT’s Mark Lee to have his own look-alike contest.

The first-ever Mark Lee look-alike contest was announced to take place in New York and initially scheduled for December 7. However, it was later postponed to December 13 and the contest went on to even make headlines in Korean media. The anticipation only grew when Mark himself reposted about the contest, giving fans the first sign that the idol might actually attend.

NCT’s Mark Lee look-alike contest:

As the day of the event approached, it faced an unexpected obstacle when the police arrived to investigate, reportedly after a fan volunteered to take responsibility for the gathering. Amid a bad start, things turned out to be good as their suspicions proved true as the K-pop star showed up after the event began, accompanied by two security guards.

NOT THE PARK POLICE ALREADY CAME TO SHUT DOWN THE MARK LOOK ALIKE CONTEST pic.twitter.com/5FPEK3xjDC

— laika stickah (@neosolos) December 13, 2024

Initially, Mark was all smiles in videos and photos, but the situation quickly escalated. Social media clips showed chaos erupting as fans began pushing and mobbing around him. According to attendees, Mark left shortly after arriving due to the disorder, with fans seen running and chasing after his vehicle.

241213 마크 닮은꼴

진짜 등판……. ㅁㅊ 뒤돌낫는데 마크::….: 머리 자르고 염색 ㅁㅊ pic.twitter.com/43sLdvJLPv

— 미음 xoxoxox (@902r) December 13, 2024

Many took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to even express how the fans should have showed decency and allowed the idol to enjoy the contest.

people running after mark…have some shame bruh omg embarrassed us all pic.twitter.com/X93GlYB0np

— mar (@ynhoes) December 13, 2024

can you all stop mobbing mark in wsp there are literally hundreds of ppl still following him nctzens are insane pic.twitter.com/UiATSXjLkO

— matcha (@matchamusicc) December 13, 2024

More about Mark Lee:

Talking about the idol himself, he has officially begun the countdown for his highly anticipated new solo release. At midnight KST on December 12, he unveiled a stylish teaser for his upcoming single, “Fraktsiya”. The track is set to drop on December 16 at 6 PM KST and will feature the talented rapper Lee Young Ji.

MARK 【프락치 (Fraktsiya) (Feat. 이영지)】
➫ 2024.12.16 6PM (KST)#MARK #마크 #LEEYOUNGJI #이영지#프락치 #Fraktsiya#MARK_프락치 #MARK_Fraktsiya#NCT #NCT127 #NCTDREAM pic.twitter.com/gsnxlRSFoM

— NCT (@NCTsmtown) December 11, 2024

The single promises to showcase Mark’s versatility as an artist, blending his signature sound with the electrifying energy that Lee Young Ji brings to the table.

To stay updated on the stories that are going viral follow Indiatimes Trending.

Former Indian cricketer Mohammed Kaif observed that even a bowler like Scott Boland, who plays infrequently for Australia, understands Virat Kohli‘s weakness. Boland targets the area outside Kohli’s off-stump, inducing edges to the slips.
“When Boland, someone who doesn’t play consistently, knows how to exploit this, why can’t we trap Travis Head? If his weakness is outside the off-stump, why don’t we consistently bowl there? Every batsman has weaknesses.”
Kaif questioned India’s strategy against Travis Head, emphasising the need to exploit his vulnerability outside the off-stump. He believes that if Boland can exploit Kohli’s weakness, India should be able to target Head’s known frailty. He highlighted that every batsman has their own weaknesses.

“Virat Kohli ki kamzori log pakad ke rakhe hue hai, off-stump ke bahar ball daalo, wo waha out honge. You’ll need to adopt the same strategy against Travis Head as well. You need to move ahead with proper planning. You need to attack him from the first ball; you need to make a fixed plan to exploit his weakness, and then you can get him out.”
Kaif further elaborated on Kohli’s weakness, suggesting that it is well-known and exploited by bowlers who persistently target the area outside his off-stump. He advocated a similar approach against Head, emphasising the importance of a pre-determined plan and attacking from the outset. Kaif believes focusing on Head’s weakness from the first ball will increase the chances of dismissing him.
“We are making mistakes. I don’t believe this Australian team is so strong that we should be scared of them. We won the first match; Australia played well, so they won the second match, and now the series is 1–1. The Indian team is a strong side, and when we go to the Gabba, we will make a comeback.”
Travis Head achieved a significant milestone on Saturday, setting a new record for the fastest century in a day-night Test at the Adelaide Oval against India. His performance helped Australia win the Adelaide Test by 10 wickets, earning him the player-of-the-match award.
Head’s blistering innings saw him reach 140 runs from just 141 balls, maintaining an impressive strike rate of 99.29.

NEW DELHI: With a commanding 295-run victory against Australia, India have taken the first step towards the World Test Championships final that is scheduled to be held at Lord’s in June 2025.
The 0-3 defeat against New Zealand had made India’s task to qualify for WTC Final tougher with Australia, South Africa and Sri Lanka all closing in.
Border-Gavaskar Trophy
India need to win the five-Test series in Australia 4-0 to directly qualify for the WTC final and that would boost their percentage point above 65 percent.
But by starting the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 with a dominating victory, India have their hopes alive to reach their third successive WTC final.
But several other teams are also still in the race for WTC final qualification, each with varying scenarios.
India have increased their points tally to 110 and percentage to 61.11 after the win in Perth. With a strong recent record, India is in a relatively good position, needing three wins from their remaining four matches to secure their place in the final, but cannot take Australia lightly.

Defending champions Australia are placed at the second spot with 90 points and a percentage of 57.69.
Australia need at least four wins from their remaining seven matches to confirm qualification.
At the third spot are Sri Lanka, who have four matches left and need to win three of them to reach the WTC final. The Lankans have 60 points and a percentage of 55.56.
The 2021 WTC champions New Zealand are still in contention but will need to win most of their remaining matches, including a series against England, to stay in the hunt.
The Kiwis are at the fourth spot with 72 points and a percentage of 54.55.
South Africa are the fifth spot and their hopes are alive but dependent on winning their remaining four matches, including crucial home Tests.
Though India and Australia are in the driver’s seat, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and South Africa still have slim chances depending on their performances and results from other teams.

Virat Kohli roared back to form with a vintage century against Australia on Sunday with India declaring their second innings when he achieved the feat in the first Test at Perth.

The visitors made the call at 487-6 in the final session of day three, with an ominous 533-run lead.

The 36-year-old star batsman Kohli came into the series under increasing scrutiny after managing only two Test tons in the last five years.

He averaged just 15 in their recent humiliating 3-0 home series loss to New Zealand, sparking questions over whether he should still be an automatic selection.

His cause was not helped when he fell for five in the first innings at Perth Stadium, but he responded defiantly on Sunday to leave Australia with a mountain to climb.

Coming in when Devdutt Padikkal was out for 25, he played himself in and rode his luck to bring up a half-century before unleashing with a flurry of boundaries.

Kohli completed his 30th Test century off 143 balls, with eight fours and two sixes.

It was his first ton since July last year when he achieved the feat against the West Indies in Port of Spain.

“I just want to contribute to the team’s cause, I am not a guy who wants to hang around just for the sake of it,” Kohli told the broadcasters after hitting his record 30th Test hundred. This was not just any regular hundred, but a stern reply to all the critics who doubted someone who has owned Australia for more than a decade. He managed to repay the faith showcased in him by Team India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir with a record 30th Test ton on Day 3 of the 1st Test between India and Australia at the Optus Stadium in Perth.

In the pre-departure press conference, Gambhir said that there were no concerns about Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s form in the lead-up to the Australia series. Gambhir took the bullet for Kohli as he slammed former Australia captain Ricky Ponting for his remarks over the star batter’s recent dip in form. Ponting recently commented on Kohli’s form, saying that any other player wouldn’t have survived in the team had he scored just two hundreds in five years.

Ponting vs Gambhir

The India head coach said that Ponting has got nothing to do with Indian cricket and mentioned Kohli and Rohit’s passion and hunger to do well for the team.

“What does Ponting has to do with Indian cricket? I think he should think about Australian cricket and, more importantly, have got no concerns whatsoever for Virat and Rohit. I think they are incredibly tough men. They’ve achieved a lot for Indian cricket, and they will continue to achieve a lot in the future as well. I think for me, the most important thing is that they still work really hard, and they are still passionate, they still want to achieve a lot more and that is something which is very important. The hunger in that dressing room is incredibly important for me. And for the entire group of people as well, in that dressing in dressing room. And I feel there is a lot of hunger, and especially after what has happened in the last series,” Gambhir said in the press conference.

The war of words between Gautam Gambhir and Ricky Ponting continues with the Australia great saying that the India coach is frightened ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

However, Kohli shut down all the critics with a whirlwind hundred, which was his 7th Test hundred on the Australian soil.

Legendary Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting offered a piece of advice to Pakistan ace batter Babar Azam, suggesting him to take a leaf out of India’s Virat Kohli to regain his lost form, particularly in Test cricket.

Babar is going through a rough patch as the right-handed batter averages just 20.7 in Tests since 2023. His series of dismal performances eventually led to his, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah’s exclusion from the side for the remaining two Tests of the three-match series against England.

The right-handed batter, ranked first in the ODI Batting Rankings, however, managed to hold on to his spot in Pakistan’s white-ball sides, currently on a tour of Australia.

Playing his first ODI since the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, Babar only managed 37 before being cleaned up by Adam Zampa in the touring side’s gut-wrenching two-wicket defeat in the series opener against Australia on Monday.

However, legendary captain Ponting remained concerned regarding Babar’s dismal form in the longest format, insisting Pakistan should find a way to get their ace batter back into form.

“The biggest challenge is how they get Babar back into their side,” Ponting said in the ICC Review. “They’ve got to find a way to get Babar back into form and back into their [Test] team.”

Ponting then drew parallels between the rough patch of Babar to that of Kohli, who took a notable break in 2022, owing to his three-year century drought.

The break turned out to be beneficial for the Indian batter as he ended his long-going century drought before delivering stellar performances at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022, the highlight of which was his unbeaten match-winning knock against arch-rivals Pakistan.

“You know, when you look at (Babar’s) numbers, it’s been a bit like the stuff that we were talking about with Virat [Kohli] earlier on,” Ponting said. “Sometimes – and I think Virat was on record saying this – that little bit of a break that he had, he took himself away from the game for a while to freshen up and sort out some things that he needed to sort out.

“This might be exactly what Babar needs. Maybe Babar needs to get away for a while and stop trying too hard. Lock the kit bag away for a while, and think about something else and then hopefully come back recharged, because we know at his best he’s as good as anyone going around. Hopefully we get to see that in the back half of his career again.”