Watch: Sanjay Manjrekar warns Rohit Sharma's fans in Wankhede, asks them to 'behave' as they target Hardik Pandya
Published - 01 Apr 2024, 07:30 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 10:24 PM
Former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar was forced to scold the crowd at the Wankhede Stadium for targeting Hardik Pandya before the start of the match between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals.
The India allrounder has been constantly targeted by the fans in the ongoing tournament for replacing Rohit Sharma as the MI captain. In MI’s first game of the season which was against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad, he was heavily targeted by the fans as they constantly booed him. They even taunted him with the chants of ‘Rohit, Rohit’.
The situation did not change much in Hyderabad as well last week when Mumbai locked horns against Sunrisers Hyderabad. While not many were expecting SRH fans to target Hardik Pandya, they did. And the under-pressure MI captain faced a similar situation in Mumbai as well.
As Sanjay Manjrekar announced his name at the toss, the fans started booing him. The boos were so loud that the former cricketer-turned-commentator had to ask the crowd to behave. Hardik Pandya was seen smiling as Sanjay Manjrekar was busy asking the fans to behave.
Watch Sanjay Manjrekar’s reaction after Hardik Pandya is booed by the fans:
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Talking about the game, RR captain Sanju Samson won the toss and opted to bowl first. Speaking at the toss, the wicketkeeper-batsman said: “We want to bowl first. The wicket looks fresh, it’s the first game of the season, will get help for the fast bowlers. We would like to keep on doing the same things.”
Hardik Pandya said that MI wanted to bowl first as well, saying: “We were planning to bowl first. It’s quite exciting to be a part of this game. We always look forward to the future, need to follow the process. Looking forward to playing a brand of cricket everyone enjoys. Playing the same team”
MI are eyeing their first win of the season and will be hoping that playing at home changes their fortunes. They have started their new season under a new captain with two losses in a row. On the other hand, RR have won their opening two games and will be looking to become the first team to win three games this season.