IPL 2024 - Boos turn to cheers as Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma sole scorers for MI

Hardik Pandya braved all the hatred with a smile after enduring relentless booing from Ahmedabad and Hyderabad to now facing it in his own franchise's home ground in Mumbai. In fact, in the most crucial and must-win clash against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Match 14 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, the MI batters fell like a pack of cards before Pandya and Tilak Varma managed to stitch a small partnership.

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For MI, Rohit Sharma (0), Naman Dhir (0), impact sub-Dewald Brevis (0), and Ishan Kishan (16) fell within five overs. However, afterwards, Pandya (34 off 21) and Tilak Varma (32 off 29) posted runs before they too departed. However, witnessing the way the captain led from the front saw the crowd's boos suddenly turn to cheers. Many fans took to social media, particularly X (formerly known as Twitter) to speak about how the tables turned and Pandya received praise.

In the clash, after the top wickets tumbled, Piyush Chawla (3), Gerald Coetzee (4), and Tim David (17 off 24) could also not do much, with Jasprit Bumrah (8*) and Akash Madhwal (2*) remaining at the crease towards the end. After 20 overs, MI managed to post 125 runs and lost 9 wickets. 

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For RR, Trent Boult and Yuzvendra Chahal took three wickets each, with the spinner getting the big fish - Pandya out. Nandre Burger claimed two, while Avesh Khan has one to his name. R Ashwin went wicketless.

At the toss, Rajasthan Royals won the toss and opted to bowl. They made one change as Sandeep Sharma missed out due to fitness concerns, and Nandre Burger came in. For MI, they went with an unchanged squad.

Teams:

Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Ishan Kishan(w), Rohit Sharma, Naman Dhir, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Tim David, Gerald Coetzee, Piyush Chawla, Akash Madhwal, Jasprit Bumrah, Kwena Maphaka

Subs: Dewald Brevis, Nuwan Thushara, Romario Shepherd, Nehal Wadhera, Shams Mulani

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Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson(w/c), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Nandre Burger, Yuzvendra Chahal

Subs: Rovman Powell, Tanush Kotian, Kuldeep Sen, Shubham Dubey, Abid Mushtaq