Newly-appointed skipper Hardik Pandya continues to face flak from Mumbai Indians fans despite the team returning to winning ways. The 5-time champions tasted victory after three consecutive defeats last week and they didn’t lose the momentum while hosting Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Tuesday. After Jasprit Bumrah’s majestic fifer, the visitors posted 196 on the board. In reply, Mumbai chased down with 27 balls to spare.
During the chase, Pandya was once again exposed to the hate of the MI supporters who welcomed him with unruly behaviour. Amid loud booing, it was Virat Kohli who requested the fans at the Wankhede Stadium to stop it, gesturing them to cheer for the Mumbai Indians skipper.
Only a heartless man can hate Virat Kohli pic.twitter.com/H09lRy4XIc— ` (@chixxsays) April 11, 2024
Kohli not appreciating the booing of hardik by Wankhede crowd. Telling them to cheer and reminding them he’s an India player #MIvsRCB pic.twitter.com/ok5SYa3AkA— Vighnesh Rane (@Vighrane01) April 11, 2024
Asking crowd to cheer up for Pandya, this is true sportsmanship. He took a stand for Steve smith, Naveen ul haq and now for Hardik. Proud to stan this guy ❤️pic.twitter.com/wLJuKl9xGo— Yashvi (@BreatheKohli) April 11, 2024
But not everyone was hooting against Pandya. There was a section of fans who cheered for the MI skipper. On the other hand, the all-rounder silenced the haters with a quick-fire 6-ball 21 as Mumbai defeated Bengaluru by 7 wickets.
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Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan provided the fireworks with the bat after Bumrah’s heroics. The wicketkeeper-batter went ballistic to make 69 off just 34 balls while Suryakumar dazzled with a 19-ball 52 with four sixes and five fours, as Mumbai Indians overhauled RCB’s 197-run target in just 15.3 overs.
Earlier, RCB huffed and puffed but put up a challenging 196/8 courtesy skipper Faf du Plessis (61), Rajat Patidar (50) and Dinesh Karthik’s 23-ball 53 not out but the total proved to be far from enough.
Bumrah weaved his magic en route to a five-wicket haul before Karthik played a blinder in the death overs to take RCB close to 200. In a contest where his fellow pacers erred consistently, Bumrah’s accuracy and mastery over variation helped him rule the roost once again.
(With Agency Inputs)
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