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Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya treated his fans with a six following 'Hardik Hardik' chants in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. It came against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Wankhede Stadium on Thursday, April 11.
The incident came as Hardik Pandya walked out to bat during the 12th over MI's run chase. The right-handed batter got on one knee to a full-length ball from debutant Will Jacks and nailed a sweep shot over wide long-on for a maximum.
In a video doing the rounds on X (formerly Twitter), a section of fans were seen supporting the all-rounder before Pandya got off the mark with a six.
Watch the videos below:
Hardik Pandya stayed unbeaten on 21 runs off six balls at a strike rate of 350, including three sixes. The right-hander also slammed a six over cover off Akash Deep to take Mumbai past the finish line. MI won the game by seven wickets with 27 balls to spare to register back-to-back wins after three losses.
"It was important for us to finish it early" - Hardik Pandya stresses the importance of NRR after MI beat RCB in IPL 2024 clash
MI captain Hardik Pandya was delighted as MI boosted their net run rate by winning the game against RCB with 27 balls to spare. The 30-year-old also credited Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan for their century partnership for the opening wicket. He also reserved special praise for half-centurion Suryakumar Yadav and pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who bagged his second fifer in the IPL.
Pandya said in his post-match comments:
"Always good to win. The way we have won - it's quite impressive. The way Ro and Kishan batted, giving the platform, it was important for us to finish it early. We didn't speak about it. That's the beauty of this team, players know what to do.
"Blessed to have Bumrah in my side. He does it over and over again. He practices a lot. The amount of experience and confidence he has is tremendous.
"I did tell him (Suryakumar Yadav) when he scored the fifty that welcome back. I've been opposition captain as well against him, it's tough to put field for him."
MI will next host Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Wankhede on Sunday (April 14).
Click here to check out the full MI vs RCB IPL 2024 scorecard.
