IPL 2024: Fans throw bottles, shoes on giant screen as Hardik Pandya comes up for post-match interview

Hardik Pandya has been subjected to sensational criticism over the past few months after he was announced as the new Mumbai Indians skipper for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, replacing the legendary Rohit Sharma.

Hardik was booed by the fans when Mumbai Indians faced Gujarat Titans at the colossal Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The five-time IPL champions lost that encounter by six runs. On Wednesday, March 27, Mumbai locked horns with Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad and lost their second game in a row in IPL 2024 by 31 runs.

A video showing fans throwing bottles, shoes, buckets, etc. at a giant screen as soon as Hardik came up for an interview has gone viral on social media.

SRH amass highest team total in IPL history, floor MI with batting might

After opting to bowl first, Mumbai Indians' bowlers were put to the sword by Travis Head inside the powerplay. The Australian batter, making his debut for the Sunrisers, smashed 62 runs off just 24 balls. His fellow opener Mayank Agarwal couldn't get going but Abhishek Sharma came in at No. 3 and played a magnificent knock of 63 runs off 23 balls.

After the initial carnage from the two southpaws, South African stalwarts Heinrich Klaasen and Aiden Markram joined forces and stitched an entertaining 116-run partnership for the fourth wicket off 55 balls. The former remained not out on 80 off 34 balls, while Markram was unbeaten on 42 off 28 deliveries. Sunrisers finished on 277/3 in their 20 overs, going past Royal Challengers Bengaluru's 263/5, which was the highest team total in the history of the competition.

Chasing the improbable target of 278, Ishan Kishan gave Mumbai a quick start as he scored 34 off 13 balls. Rohit Sharma and Naman Dhir played aggressive knocks to keep the visitors in the hunt. Tilak Varma top-scored with a 34-ball 64 but in the end, Hyderabad registered a comfortable 31-run win.