Watch: Kohli appeals to Wankhede crowd to stop booing Pandya

NEW DELHI: It seemed crowds’ unruly behaviour towards Hardik Pandya took a backseat in Mumbai Indians‘ last match against Delhi Capitals at Wankhede Stadium. But that was not to be as the MI skipper found himself again at the centre of backlash from fans during the clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Number of times, Hardik’s teammates, players from the opposition and commentators have frequently come to his defence, urging the crowd to show him the respect he deserves.
In a match where partisan crowds passionately cheered for Indian stars Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, there were intermittent moments of booing directed at MI skipper Pandya.
However, as Pandya walked out to bat, amidst the boos, a section of the crowd began chanting ‘Hardik… Hardik’, with Kohli promptly encouraging fans to support the Indian all-rounder.
Hardik then silenced the boos by smashing three sixes in his quickfire 21 not out off just 6 balls.
Talking about the match, Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan provided the fireworks with the bat after Jasprit Bumrah‘s magical five-wicket haul as Mumbai pummelled RCB by seven wickets for their second win in the IPL here on Thursday in a row.
Kishan went ballistic to make 69 off just 34 balls (7x4s, 5x6s) and Suryakumar dazzled with a 19-ball 52 with four sixes and five fours, as Mumbai overhauled RCB’s 197-run target in just 15.3 overs.