Virat Kohli asks crowd to cheer for Hardik: During the MI vs RCB match on Thursday evening, RCB and India superstar Virat Kohli stood up for the opposing captain, Hardik Pandya, who is his India teammate, and asked the Wankhede crowd to not boo Hardik and clap for the all-rounder who is also an India player.
Even as his RCB was on the verge of a demoralizing loss, Kohli made his point to the Wankhede crowd, and in essence to other fans in the country, to go easy on Hardik Pandya, who has been at the receiving end of a significant amount of boos and slurs in the IPL so far.
Pandya’s ascension to the Mumbai Indians’ captaincy position by replacing Rohit Sharma hasn’t sat down well with a huge number of fans. He’s been greeted with loud boos and casteist slurs in the three different venues he’s played in the tournament so far.
But on Thursday night, the boos turned into chants of “Hardik Hardik,” and the new MI captain got some applause from the Wankhede crowd after an intervention by Virat Kohli.
Hardik came in to bat during Mumbai’s innings in the 12th over with MI on top of the chase of 197. With the score reading 139/2 in 11.2 overs, only mere formalities remained, which Hardik completed by blasting 21* runs in 6 balls with the help of three sixes, the third of which sealed the chase.
Earlier in the night, during RCB’s innings, there had been boos from the crowd when Hardik bowled a solitary over. The reaction from the crowd was the same when he walked in to bat, but the mood of the fans was changed by the RCB starman.
Kohli made sure to let the crowd know his feelings. He looked upset when he heard the boos and asked the crowd to clap for their captain. Kohli also gestured toward his t-shirt, signaling that Hardik is an Indian player too.
Video: Virat Kohli asks crowd to cheer for Hardik Pandya
Meanwhile, talking about the match, it was a proper thumping that RCB received from MI. First, Jasprit Bumrah rocked them with a five-wicket haul, but half-centuries from Faf du Plessis, Rajat Patidar, and Dinesh Karthik took RCB to 196.
Mumbai made a mockery of RCB’s total. Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan shared a 101-run opening stand in 53 balls before Suryakumar Yadav treated the RCB bowlers like gully kids by smashing a 17-ball half-century. MI gunned the target with 27 balls to spare. RCB now have five losses in six games and are edging toward the exit gate.
Check Out: Virat Kohli asks crowd to cheer for Hardik
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