Mumbai Indians had a very torrid start to their home campaign at the IPL 2024 against Rajasthan Royals on Monday as their batters failed to fire. It has been a season to forget for Mumbai Indians with three successive losses seeing them at the bottom of the 10-team points table. To add to MI's troubles, the captaincy change from Rohit Sharma to Hardik Pandya has left many fans angry. Pandya has been getting booed during MI's matches, same was the case on Monday at the Wankhede Stadium.
In the midst of this a video went viral on social media where it was claimed that a placard on Rohit Sharma and quote from a famous Bollywood movie was not allowed at the Wankhede Stadium. "Rishte mein toh hum tumhare, captain baap lagte hain," the placard read. It is not clear whether the video is authentic or not. NDTV can't ascertain if the video was taken outside the Wankhede Stadium.
Rumours have also been rampant that Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) have started planning steps against fans targetting Hardik.
However, MCA have denied the same, saying that they will be following BCCI's guidelines on crowd behaviour.
"No instructions given for this specific game. There have been set guidelines issued by BCCI on spectators behaviour over the years, that is process that is followed," an MCA statement read, as quoted by News 18.
Talking about the game, A clinical Rajasthan Royals romped home for a third win on the trot in the Indian Premier League with a six-wicket hammering of Mumbai Indians, whose skipper Hardik Pandya continued to be on the receiving end of fans' anger, on Monday.
After Yuzvendra Chahal (3/11) and Trent Boult (3/22) combined to suffocate Mumbai Indians with the bat, restricting them to 125/9, Riyan Parag (54 not out) churned out yet another top-drawer knock to take Rajasthan Royals to the first spot in the IPL points table.
The 22-year-old Parag continued to make giant strides this season with a knock that reflected his maturity and aggression, dishing out some spectacular hits while being single-minded to not relent until his side was over the line.
Parag's knock was studded with five fours and three sixes as Royals reached 127/4 from 15.3 overs, winning with 27 balls to spare.
Meanwhile, there was no letup for Pandya who was booed on several occasions in Mumbai Indians' first home game. It started with Pandya being booed when he took field for warm-up drills and the fans hit the player hard again when he came out for the toss.
With PTI inputs