Hardik Pandya silenced his critics with a crucial knock after the Mumbai Indians suffered a top-order collapse in their IPL 2024 opener against Rajasthan Royals. Facing boos from the Wankhede crowd following early wickets, Pandya responded with an aggressive 19-ball 34, including six fours, to turn the jeers into cheers.
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Mumbai found themselves in dire straits after losing their top three batsmen – Rohit Sharma, Naman Dhir, and Dewald Brevis – for golden ducks (0 runs) to Trent Boult. Pandya, entering at 20-4, partnered with Tilak Verma to launch a counter-attack. Their aggressive approach lifted the spirits of the Wankhede crowd, who initially booed Pandya but quickly switched their allegiance as he played a captain's knock.
However, Pandya fell short of a half-century, caught by Rovman Powell off Yuzvendra Chahal while attempting a big shot. In the last over of the powerplay, he smashed a flurry of boundaries, taking 2, 4, 4, 0, 4, 4, and 2 runs, propelling Mumbai to a score of 46 runs by the end of the over.
