IPL 2024 - Amidst crowd booing, Hardik Pandya and Rohit Sharma hug on the field after a wicket

What began in Ahmedabad, has continued in Hyderabad and may surely occur at every stadium across India whenever Mumbai Indians (MI) travel is hear their captain Hardik Pandya get booed as soon as he steps out for the toss. The displeasure of the crowd is very evident.

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This emotional response from fans was especially triggered after Rohit Sharma was removed as the MI captain and the role was handed over to Hardik Pandya. While fans believe there to be a rift between the two players, in the clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), the two were seen sharing a hug after Mayank Agarwal's wicket fell.

In Match 8 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, captain Hardik Pandya drew first blood. Mayank went for a pull, but played a half-hearted shot, resulting in a top edge towards mid-on, and Tim David didn't miss, catching it with ease. 

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Shortly after the wicket fell, fans witnessed Rohit being the first to embrace Pandya, expressing joy over the dismissal. Many were soon to share the screengrab of the moment on social media, particularly X (formerly known as Twitter) to speak about the hug.

As for the clash, SRH got off to a dangerous start with Travis Head smashing the bowlers and scoring 62 off 24 balls. However, his run-scoring was halted by Gerald Coetzee. Mayank Agarwal departed after scoring 11 off 13 balls. After 8 overs, SRH had already scored 117 runs but lost both their openers.

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This match holds special significance for former MI skipper Rohit Sharma, who is playing his 200th IPL game for the Mumbai franchise. He was gifted a special '200' jersey by Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar.

Teams:

Sunrisers Hyderabad (Playing XI): Travis Head, Mayank Agarwal, Abhishek Sharma, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen(w), Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins(c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Markande, Jaydev Unadkat

Subs: Nitish Reddy, Washington Sundar, Umran Malik, Glenn Phillips, Upendra Yadav

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

Subs: Dewald Brevis, Romario Shepherd, Mohammad Nabi, Vishnu Vinod, Nehal Wadhera