Mumbai Indians (MI) senior batter Rohit Sharma gets a standing ovation from the crowd at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium during the team’s IPL 2024 opener against the Gujarat Titans (GT) on Sunday, March 24.
One of the key buzz points leading up to the edition was Hardik Pandya taking over as MI captain from Sharma. Several supporters were irritated by Sharma’s unceremonious dismissal, after he guided Mumbai to five championships.
While Sharma played under Pandya’s captaincy in Mumbai’s latest encounter against Gujarat, the audience at the stadium made it obvious who they wanted in charge by singing, ‘Hamara skipper kaisa ho, Rohit Sharma jaisa ho’.
"Hamara Captain Kaisa Ho, Rohit Sharma Jaisa Ho" chants at Ahmedabad in front of a crowd of over 1 lakh. This is what is called 'Aura', not that fake aggression.
HARDIK PANDYA KI MKB pic.twitter.com/fe6QrZv47C— Jod Insane (@jod_insane) March 24, 2024
Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya had opposing reactions from the Ahmedabad audience. While the supporters were fully behind Sharma, Pandya received a lot of boos during the match.
Pandya made the move to the Gujarat-based team before this year’s IPL. They named him their captain too. His two seasons as skipper were quite successful. In 2022, he led them to the title win. And just last year, they were tournament runners-up under his leadership.
The talismanic all-rounder returned to his previous team, Mumbai, before to the IPL 2024 after being transferred in an all-cash transaction.
Rohit Sharma Displays Exceptional Form with the Bat in GT vs MI IPL 2024 Match
Hardik Pandya won the toss for Mumbai and chose to field first. Gujarat kept losing wickets at regular intervals and struggled to score a substantial total.
The home team finished on 168/8 after 20 overs. Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill were the best batsmen, with 45 and 31 runs, respectively.
Jasprit Bumrah was Mumbai’s standout bowler, taking three wickets. MI got off to a horrible start in the run chase, losing Ishan Kishan for a duck in their opening over.
Former captain Rohit Sharma gave the squad hope by opposing the Gujarat spinners with remarkable skill. He hit 43 runs off 29 balls before going LBW to left-arm spinner Sai Kishore.
Mumbai eventually lost by six runs, as Gujarat recovered in the late innings thanks to a superb spell from Mohit Sharma.