Mumbai Indians' Hardik Pandya 'irony' exposed as MI captain can't catch a break amid clattering of boos at Wankhede

Former England skipper Michael Vaughan took a cheeky dig at Mumbai Indians fans after they ‘boeed’ their own skipper Hardik Pandya at the toss during the mega IPL 2024 clash against Rajasthan Royals on Monday. Pandya's appointment as skipper replacing Rohit Sharma has not gone down well with some cricket fans as the flamboyant all-rounder faced the heat on social media the field in the last two matches.

The home fans at Wankhede Stadium also welcomed Pandya at the toss with ‘boos’ however, Sanjay Manjrekar asked them to behave.

Meanwhile, RR skipper Sanju Samson won the toss and elected to bowl first as his decision worked well for his side. Trent Boult ran riot with the new ball and claimed three wickets while Nandre Burger also joined him to hit MI with the fourth blow inside the powerplay.

Vaughan, who is very vocal about his views on social media took a dig at MI fans after they were off to a horrible start with the bat against RR.

“Ironic that the fans that booed the skipper at the toss now desperately need him to get them out of a big hole .. #Mumbai #Hardik,” Vaughan posted on X.

Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians' top-order collapsed inside powerplay courtesy a brilliant spell from Boult who dismissed Rohit Sharma, Naman Dhir and Dewald Brevis for golden ducks. Burger also joined the party and got the better of Ishan Kishan for 16 to add more misery for MI.

The onus shifted to skipper Hardik to pull his team out of trouble as MI are yet to register a point on the points table. His tenure as MI skipper started on a poor note with back-to-back losses against Gujarat Giants and Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Meanwhile, Pandya ensured that Mumbai will continue to play a brand of cricket which everyone enjoys.

“We were planning to bowl first. It's quite exciting to be a part of this game. We always look forward to the future, need to follow the process. Looking forward to playing a brand of cricket everyone enjoys,” said Pandya after the toss.