'Sweet season of mangoes': Mumbai Indians players take cheeky dig at Naveen-ul-Haq, imitate his viral celebration

After Mumbai Indians emerged victorious over Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the IPL 2023 Eliminator, players Sandeep Warrier, Kumar Kartikeya, and Vishnu Vinod subtly taunted LSG pacer Naveen-ul-Haq. In a previous encounter during the league stage of IPL 2023, Naveen-ul-Haq engaged in a heated exchange with Virat Kohli, the star player of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Following the RCB-LSG match, Naveen took to Instagram and shared stories about mangoes whenever the Bangalore-based franchise had a poor performance in their matches.

Mango wars continue

To add to the jest, Naveen even uploaded a meme video on Instagram, expressing amusement after RCB's elimination from the tournament.

Following MI's triumph over LSG in the Eliminator, three Mumbai Indians players - Kumar Kartikeya, Vishnu Vinod, and Sandeep Warrier - gathered around the dining table and captured a photograph with mangoes as a cheeky reference.

Both Sandeep and Vishnu shared the photo on their respective Instagram profiles. The posts have since been deleted.

Naveen-ul-Haq stands out as lone performer

Despite Lucknow Super Giants suffering a comprehensive defeat of 81 runs against the Mumbai Indians, Naveen-ul-Haq's performance stood out as a shining beacon for his team. The Afghan pacer showcased his skills and delivered his best-ever performance in the IPL during the match. With an impressive spell of 4/38, Naveen claimed the crucial wickets of renowned batsmen Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, and Cameron Green.

In the first innings, the Mumbai Indians seemed poised to achieve a formidable total of over 200 runs. However, Naveen's exceptional four-wicket haul restricted their progress and limited them to a score of 182/8. Despite this, Lucknow Super Giants faltered in their pursuit and were ultimately dismissed for a mere 101 runs, resulting in a significant defeat by a margin of 81 runs.