Hardik Pandya’s Drop-Catch Error Leads to Wankhede Crowd Backlash In IPL 2024
Hardik Pandya faced a moment of disbelief as he dropped a crucial catch against Rajasthan Royals (RR) during Mumbai Indians’ (MI) clash at the Wankhede Stadium in IPL 2024.
Following that, Hardik Pandya was subjected to a cruel treatment by the Wankhede fans, who likely booed him the loudest during the game.
Social media users said that the jeers directed at Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya on Monday at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai were more intense than those directed at him in Ahmedabad and Hyderabad. But when he erred in a dropping Jos Buttler during the Rajasthan Royals’ victorious chase of 126, that was arguably the worst or most vicious.
When Jasprit Bumrah was in his second over during the fourth over of Rajasthan’s batting, it occurred. Buttler hit the shot to the left of mid-off after the India fast bowler produced a fuller delivery outside off. Stationed there, Hardik dove quickly to his left and grabbed hold of it with both hands, but he lost grip as the ball popped out.
After gathering the ball, Hardik had his hand over his head in complete shock. The Mumbai Indians dugout was astounded to witness the events unfold in the meanwhile. What transpired, though, was a cruel punishment at the hands of the Wankhede crowd, who booed the MI captain loudest during the match. With a shy smile, Hardik was instantly given confidence by Tim David, who approached him.
Despite being given a lifeline, Buttler, who was batting on 10 at the time of the dropped catch, was removed by Akash Madhwal in the over that followed the powerplay.
Mumbai did manage to keep themselves in the game by scoring at regular intervals in order to protect the pitiful total. However, the visitors won six wickets at Wankhede thanks to a heroic half-century knock from Riyan Parag, who reached an undefeated 54 off 39 balls.
In the IPL 2024, Rajasthan rose to the top of the points table with their third straight victory, while Mumbai dropped to the bottom of the standings after suffering their third straight defeat since the season began.
In an attempt to change their destiny in the IPL 2024, Hardik pushed his MI team to exhibit more “courage and discipline” after the defeat.
It all comes down to doing the right things; sometimes the right things lead to the right results, and other times they don’t. We think we can do much better as a group, but we need to be much more courageous and disciplined,” he remarked.
