Rohit Sharma’s Request Calms Crowd as Hardik Pandya Faces Booing at Wankhede Stadium | Manjrekar Urges Fans to Behave

During the IPL 2024 match between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) at Wankhede Stadium, things got tense. When Sanjay Manjrekar did the toss, the crowd wasn’t happy.

Hardik Pandya, MI’s captain, got booed a lot by fans, showing that people have mixed feelings about him leading the team. At that moment, Manjrekar told the fans to ‘behave,’ reminding everyone to stay respectful.

Pandya’s promotion to captaincy upon his return from Gujarat Titans (GT) had been met with examination and disapproval from some MI supporters. The atmosphere at Wankhede Stadium during the RR match highlighted this dissatisfaction, with Pandya facing not only boos during the toss but also throughout RR’s batting.

During the rising tension, a calming presence was seen in Rohit Sharma, the former MI captain. Positioned near the boundary rope, Rohit Sharma, using his gestures, urged the spectators to reduce the hostility. It was a moment that highlighted not only Rohit’s leadership qualities but also the unity within the MI ranks. 

The incident during the toss, combined with MI’s on-field struggles, represented the challenges Pandya faced as the team’s captain. Yet, in the midst of the chaos, there were signs of strength and professionalism, with Pandya keeping his cool and completing his responsibilities before heading back to the dressing room.

However, the match itself didn’t go as MI had hoped. A batting collapse left MI struggling to score, managing only 125/9 against RR’s strong bowling attack led by Trent Boult and Yuzvendra Chahal.

Rohit Sharma, Naman Dhir, and Dewald Brevis were dismissed without scoring on the first ball, while the only two batters who fought back were Hardik Pandya (34) and Tilak Varma (32). RR faced a tough situation at 88/4 during their run chase, but an in-form Riyan Parag (54*) guided the one-time IPL champions to a six-wicket victory with 27 balls remaining.