IPL 2024: Virat Kohli wins hearts online with his gesture to stop jeering Hardik Pandya at Wankhede

Hardik Pandya, the captain of the Mumbai Indians, says the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 has been an emotional roller coaster. The five-time champions secured the top all-round player in an all-cash agreement with the Gujarat Titans, and he was named captain of the team for the competition’s 17th season right away.

Fans were never fond of Hardik taking Rohit’s place as MI captain, though. Because of this, Pandya’s fans started jeering him whenever he played. On Thursday, April 11, the Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru played in the tournament’s 25th match.

The jeers hurled at Hardik Pandya by the Wankhede crowd did not amuse the RCB captain, Virat Kohli. Kohli was pleading with the Wankhede crowd to stop jeering Hardik Pandya when he came out to bat in the second inning in a video that has gone viral on social media.

Virat Kohli asking the Wankhede crowd to cheer for Hardik Pandya.

pic.twitter.com/Nj7jigWsdk

— Secular Chad (@SachabhartiyaRW) April 11, 2024

The Mumbai Indians win their second game of the year.

In terms of the match, the visitors batted first when MI and RCB faced each other. With in-form Virat Kohli dismissed for a mere three runs, RCB had a poor start. On the other hand, Rajat Patidar struck 50 off 26 deliveries, while Faf du Plessis scored 61 runs in 40.

Furthermore, the RCB scored 196 runs in the first inning thanks to an unbeaten 53-run performance from Dinesh Karthik. Jasprit Bumrah took the most wickets for MI, finishing with five; Gerald Coetzee, Akash Madhwal, and Shreyas Gopal each scored one.

Also read: IPL 2024: Mumbai Indians vs. Royal Challengers Bengaluru, 25th Match: Who Said What?

Mumbai began the chase with great intent, as openers Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma amassed scores of 68 and 39 runs, respectively. MI defeated the total in 15.3 overs, gaining seven wickets and claiming their second victory of the IPL 2024 season. Additionally, Suryakumar Kumar added 52 runs to the scoreboard, and Pandya maintained his undefeated record at 21.