Former Indian teammates Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan shared a lighthearted moment on ground before the toss in a crucial IPL match between Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Mumbai Indians (MI) at Mullanpur Stadium today.
A video circulating on social media shows the close friends embracing warmly before the contest. Rohit, known as the "Hitman," then takes Dhawan's hand and engages in a lighthearted dance.
Dhawan missed the match due to a shoulder niggle, with Curran confirming Rilee Rossouw replacing Jonny Bairstow in the starting lineup. However, this match marks a special occasion for Rohit Sharma, who is playing in his 250th IPL match.
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Rohit and Shikhar are the fourth-highest run-getters in ODI cricket. The duo has added 5148 runs in 115 matches between 2013 and 2022. Rohit is the second-highest run-scorer for India after Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar, with 6609 runs.
Meanwhile, Punjab Kings captain Sam Curran won the toss and elected to field first. "We will have a bowl. Keeping up with the trend of the tournament. Shikhar is not well, so that's the only injury and Rilee comes in for Jonny today. It is not nice to lose the close games but we are doing a lot of things right. Taide drops out of the side, just a couple of tactical changes" he said.
Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya, despite his team's loss to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the previous match, insisted on a game-by-game approach. He acknowledged the team's inconsistency in closing out matches and stressed the importance of individual commitment to achieve results. Hardik himself is yet to make a significant impact this season, with modest returns in both batting and bowling.
Playing XIs
Punjab Kings: Rilee Rossouw, Prabhsimran Singh, Sam Curran(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Liam Livingstone, Shashank Singh, Ashutosh Sharma, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Mohammad Nabi, Gerald Coetzee, Shreyas Gopal, Jasprit Bumrah
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