Mumbai: Virat Kohli once again showed why he is the most-loved Indian cricketer after the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) stalwart urged the Wankhede crowd to cheer for Hardik Pandya as the latter came out to bat on Thursday. Pandya has been a victim of constant booing from the fans ever since he took over as Mumbai Indians captain from Rohit Sharma. Thursday was no different as a section of the crowd booed Pandya as he walked out to bat following Rohit’s dismissal in the 13th over.
The crowd heard Kohli and cheered for the new Mumbai Indians skipper as Pandya opened his innings with a first-ball six off Will Jacks. In the end, Pandya remained unbeaten on 21 runs off just six balls, including three sixes, leading Mumbai Indians to their second win of the season.
Chasing 197 to win, Mumbai Indians got off to a blazing start with Ishan Kishan blasting a 34-ball 69 before Suryakumar Yadav scored a 19-ball 52 as MI overwhelmed the target in 15.3 overs. Earlier, RCB finished at 196/8 despite Jasprit Bumrah’s 5/25.
Virat Kohli is requesting the crowd to support Hardik
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— (@123_at_perth) April 11, 2024
For RCB, Faf du Plessis made 61 off 40 balls, while Rajat Patidar hit 50 off 26 balls. Towards the end, Dinesh Karthik made a 23-ball unbeaten 53-run cameo to take RCB to a competitive total. As far as Bumrah is concerned, the India pacer weaved his magic as his accuracy and mastery over variation helped him rule the roost once again.
Mixing up his fiery yorkers perfectly with sharp bouncers, Bumrah snaffled the in-form Virat Kohli (3) early on to extend his ordinary run at the Wankhede Stadium while playing the IPL. Du Plessis and Patidar banished their poor run with their respective half-centuries while putting on 82 runs for the third wicket, but Bumrah, who bowled three overs post the halfway mark, seemed to have broken the back of RCB’s resistance with a terrific spell. Kohli perished in Bumrah’s first over when he got an inside edge off a wild swipe with Ishan Kishan taking a fine diving catch.
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