Royal Challengers Bengaluru batter Virat Kohli gave a heartwarming hug to Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya after IPL 2024 clash between two teams at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday, April 11.
Hardik Pandya was once again subjected to jeers and boos from the crowd as he walked out to bat when the Mumbai Indians were chasing a 197-run target. The Mumbai crowd continued to express his dissatisfaction by targeting Hardik through chants and derogatory remarks over MI management's decision to sack Rohit Sharma from captaincy duties.
Kohli displayed his sportsmanship spirit when he urged the crowd to refrain from booing Hardik Pandya and instead, clap for him. In a viral video, Kohli was visibly unhappy with the crowd's behaviour towards the Mumbai Indians captain as he was joining Suryakumar Yadav at the crease when the hosts required 58 off 52 balls to win the match.
However, Hardik Pandya silenced the booing crowd when he played an unbeaten quickfire knock of 21 off 6 balls to help the Mumbai Indians chase down the target. After the win, Pandya received a hug from Kohli, who stood up for his Indian teammate by urging the booing crowd to clap for Mumbai Indians skipper.
Hardik Pandya faced severe backlash from when when Mumbai Indians suffered three successive defeats in the ongoing IPL 2024. However, the five-time IPL champions managed to end a winless streak with a win over Delhi Capitals. Hardik-led continued their comeback with a win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Mumbai Indians move to 7th on the points table with 2nd successive win
Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians made a good progress on the points table as they moved to the seventh spot from the bottom of the table with the second successive win in the ongoing Indian Premier League season.
MI were given a 197-run target to chase by Royal Challengers Bengaluru. However, the hosts pulled off the target in just 15.3 overs, thanks to brilliant performances by Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav. Ishan unleashed his firepower at the top as he scored 69 off 34 balls while Suryakumar found his groove and slammed 52 off 19 balls at an impressive strike rate of 273.68.
Rohit Sharma too contributed with an innings of 39 off 24 balls, while Hardik Pandya (21*) and Tilak Verma (16*) chipped in to help MI achieve the target.
Jasprit Bumrah was too hot to handle for RCB batters as he scalped five wickets while just 21 runs with an economy rate of 5.5 despite the visitors posted a massive total on the board.
Mumbai Indians will play their next match against long-time rivals Chennai Super Kings at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, April 14.
