After the conclusion of the fifth game of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Gujarat Titans (GT), MI stars Hardik Pandya and Rohit Sharma were seen having a lively chat at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, on Sunday, March 24.
Hardik Pandya finally made his first appearance as captain of Mumbai Indians (MI) as he took the field to face his former team Gujarat Titans (GT). Pandya enjoyed tremendous success with GT during his two years with the franchise, guiding them to title victory in the first season before taking them to the finals in the following season.
Things were going quite well for Hardik Pandya at the Gujarat Titans (GT) and many praised his association with head coach Ashish Nehra.
However, the relationship between Hardik Pandya and GT did not last long as he requested his release from the team to join the Mumbai Indians (MI). GT accepted his request and shifted him back to MI and replaced Rohit Sharma as captain of the franchise.
The decision taken by Mumbai Indians received a lot of criticism and fans also expressed their disappointment seeing Hardik Pandya leading the franchise at the Narendra Modi Stadium against Gujarat Titans (GT).
Hardik Pandya was loudly booed by the spectators in Ahmedabad and they showed their support for Rohit Sharma by chanting the latter’s name regularly.
There were certain moments on the field that angered fans even more when Hardik Pandya ordered Rohit Sharma to play near the boundary ropes and not inside the circle as he usually does. Furthermore, Rohit Sharma clearly seemed unhappy taking orders from his successor.
Meanwhile, after Hardik Pandya faced a defeat in his first outing as Mumbai Indians (MI) captain, he was seen having a heated animated chat with Rohit Sharma and the clip of the incident went viral on social media.
Watch: Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya engaged in a lively chat
– Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka (@Hanji_CricDekho) March 24, 2024
Chasing the target of 169 runs in the match, Mumbai Indians fell short and were restricted to 162/9 with the efforts of Rohit Sharma and Dewald Brevis going in vain.
Speaking after the 6-run loss, Hardik Pandya said that they backed each other to complete the run chase but were unlucky to end up on the losing side. He said:
“Obviously we backed ourselves to chase those 42 runs, but it was one of those days where we see the score quite a bit lower compared to what it could have been in five overs, I think we lost a bit of momentum there.”
Hardik Pandya further expressed his joy on his return to the Narendra Modi Stadium, home of his former GT team. He also spoke about young Tilak Varma’s decision not to take a single off one of the deliveries of Rashid Khan’s over. Hardik Pandya said:
“It feels good to be back because this is a stadium where you can enjoy and feel the atmosphere quite lively and obviously the crowd was full and they also played a good game. (About Tilak not taking the single against Rashid) I think Tilak felt it was a better idea at the time, I fully support him, it’s not a problem, 13 gaI have to go”.