Former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar was forced to scold the crowd at the Wankhede Stadium for targeting Hardik Pandya before the start of the match between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals.
The India all-rounder has been constantly attacked by fans in the ongoing tournament for replacing Rohit Sharma as MI captain. In MI’s first match of the season, which was against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad, he was heavily attacked by the fans as they booed him constantly. They even mocked him with chants of ‘Rohit, Rohit’.
The situation also did not change much in Hyderabad last week when Mumbai took on Sunrisers Hyderabad. While not many expected SRH fans to target Hardik Pandya, they did. And the MI captain, under pressure, also faced a similar situation in Mumbai.
When Sanjay Manjrekar announced his name in the toss, fans started booing him. The boos were so loud that the former cricketer-turned-commentator had to ask the crowd to behave. Hardik Pandya was seen smiling while Sanjay Manjrekar was busy asking fans to behave.
Watch Sanjay Manjrekar’s reaction after fans booed Hardik Pandya:
🚨 Toss 🚨@rajasthanroyals wins the toss and chooses to bowl against @mipaltan #TATAIPL | #MIvRR pic.twitter.com/pziDfHNIci
– IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 1, 2024
Talking about the game, RR captain Sanju Samson won the toss and opted to bowl first. Speaking during the toss, the wicketkeeper-batsman said: “We want to bowl first. The wicket looks fresh, it’s the first game of the season, there will be help for the fast bowlers. We would like to continue doing the same.”
Hardik Pandya said that MI also wanted to bowl first and said, “We were planning to bowl first. It’s very exciting to be a part of this game. We always look to the future, we must follow the process. I’m looking forward to playing a type of cricket that everyone will enjoy. Playing the same team”
MI are hoping to get their first win of the season and hope that playing at home will change their fortunes. They have started their new season with a new captain with two losses in a row. On the other hand, RR won their first two games and will look to become the first team to win three games this season.