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Indian cricket veteran Virat Kohli and seasoned all-rounder Hardik Pandya shared a heartwarming hug after the conclusion of the Mumbai Indians versus Royal Challengers Bengaluru game at the Wankhede Stadium. The five-times champions registered an emphatic seven-wicket win over Faf du Plessis’ side to secure their second victory this season in five games.
The home side raced past the 197-run target in just 15.3 overs as the faltered Mumbai team put their campaign back on track. Opener Ishan Kishan and flamboyant Suryakumar Yadav notched splendid half-centuries to help their side gain a massive lead in the net-run rate. Skipper Hardik Pandya too cracked 6-ball-21 to end the proceedings early.
Although, the Wankhede crowd still went against their skipper once again as the 30-year-old was subjected to loud boos from the crowd as soon as he entered to take the stride. Then the former RCB skipper came in between and asked the supporters to end the criticism.
Following Kohli’s gesture in favour of Hardik, the crowd too went behind the Indian star’s advice and started cheering for Pandya. After the game, the emotional Hardik Pandya embraced a hug with Virat Kohli as a token of thanks.
WATCH: Virat Kohli hugs Hardik Pandya after Mumbai’s game against Bengaluru
WATCH: Virat Kohli asks crowd to stop criticizing Hardik Pandya
Earlier in the game, when Hardik Pandya came into the middle following Rohit Sharma's wicket, he was welcomed with the familiar boos and jeers from the atrocious Wankhede crowd. It has become an unrelenting tradition in the Mumbai Indians games since Hardik was appointed as the skipper of the Mumbai-based franchise before the start of this season.
However, Virat Kohli won people over by signaling a gesture to the crowd to stop flaking the former Gujarat Titans skipper, and instead cheer for the home captain. The crowd couldn’t disagree with the run-machine as they went behind Hardik and started cheering for him.
