Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya was greeted to massive boos from the crowd at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad during the toss. By contrast, Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill, who replaced Hardik in the role after the all-rounder shifted base, received plenty of cheers. The video of the same went viral on social media.
Hardik had a successful run as captain of the Titans, leading them to the title in the 2022 edition, followed by lifting them to the final the following year. However, the Baroda-born cricketer desired to move to the Mumbai Indians and the franchise owners welcomed him with open arms.
With the move becoming controversial and tensions increasing tenfold after replacing Rohit Sharma, netizens were also unhappy with the same. During a recent press conference in Mumbai, Hardik and coach Mark Boucher evaded every question about captaincy.
Hardik Pandya won the toss and sends Gujarat Titans into bat:
After winning the toss in Ahmedabad, Hardik sent Gill's men to bat first, citing dew as the reason. He said:
"We are gonna bowl first. Looks like a decent track, might get better if the dew arrives. Feels good to be back. My birthplace is Gujarat, a lot of success came in Gujarat, very grateful to the crowd and this state. My cricketing birth happened in Mumbai, so really good to be be back. It's been almost two weeks, we started the camp. Boys are very eager to go out there and perform. We had wonderful practice matches and practice nets. All are looking good."
Mumbai Indians XI: Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan(w), Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir, Hardik Pandya(c), Tim David, Shams Mulani, Piyush Chawla, Gerald Coetzee, Jasprit Bumrah, Luke Wood.
Gujarat Titans XI: Shubman Gill(c), Wriddhiman Saha(w), Sai Sudharsan, Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Umesh Yadav, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Spencer Johnson.
