Pandya's debut match as Mumbai Indians captain did not go according to plan, as the 5-time champions continued their 11-year tradition of losing their opening match.
Former India cricketer Manoj Tiwary has made a prediction regarding Mumbai Indians captain, Hardik Pandya, suggesting that he may face a louder chorus of boos when the franchise plays their first home game at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Tiwary believes that Rohit Sharma and Mumbai Indians fans may not give Hardik a warm welcome when Mumbai takes on Rajasthan Royals in a highly anticipated home game on April 1. Despite this, Tiwary expressed his confidence in Hardik's ability to handle such situations, citing the title-winning captain's strong temperament.
Leading up to their first home game at the iconic stadium, Mumbai Indians will first face the SunRisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on March 27, Wednesday.
Hardik Pandya's debut match as Mumbai Indians captain did not go according to plan, as the 5-time champions continued their 11-year tradition of losing their opening match. MI suffered a heartbreaking defeat by 6 runs against the Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Gujarat. The newly-appointed skipper, Hardik, faced scrutiny for his decisions and his team's inability to secure victory when 19 runs were needed from the final over. Despite cruising towards the target, Mumbai failed to chase down 43 runs in their last 5 overs, resulting in a dramatic batting collapse.
During their opening match, a notable incident occurred when Hardik was booed by the crowd in the stands. The fans were also displeased with Hardik's fielding decisions, particularly when he positioned Rohit at the boundary line instead of his usual spot inside the ring. Prior to this, some Mumbai Indians fans had voiced their disappointment over the decision to replace Rohit as captain, leading to a significant loss of followers for the franchise on social media.
"You have to see how he gets welcomed here in Mumbai because I think he is going to get booed a bit louder here. Because as a fan, Mumbai fan or a Rohit Sharma fan, nobody expected that captaincy would be given to Hardik," Manoj told PTI news agency.
"And despite Rohit giving five trophies to Mumbai Indians, he has to lose the captaincy. I don't know what the reasons are, but I think it has not gone down well with the fans. And that is the reaction which you see on the field," he added.
However, Manoj was impressed by Pandya's handling of the backlash.
"Knowing him, whatever I have been observing of late through television, that despite getting booed, he kept his calm, he kept his nerve, which is the sign of a good temperament," he said.
"I believe even if he was not booed, he has to perform well to get into the Indian team to play the World cup. Because it is important for all the players to perform well and be fit as well to be available for selection. "And him being the number one all-rounder...obviously he has to be in form and to be in form he has to perform," Manoj added.
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 "'Hardik Pandya will be....': Former India cricketer on MI captain's return at the Wankhede Stadium")
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