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Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya had a heated exchange with Gujarat Titans spinner R Sai Kishore during their IPL 2025 showdown on Saturday evening.
Hardik Pandya (left) and R Sai Kishore exchange looks during IPL 2025 clash. (Screengrab/JioHotstar)
Friends-turned-rivals.
IPL has a knack of throwing up interesting partnerships and matchups with each passing season. Teammates of one year transform into fierce rivals in another. A similar story unfolded when Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya came face-to-face with Gujarat Titans’ R Sai Kishore.
The two were once IPL teammates – when Pandya was GT captain before a blockbuster return to MI in 2023.
On Saturday, as MI visited Ahmedabad for their away game against former champions GT, Pandya had a little reunion with his former teammate Sai Kishore. And certainly, it wasn’t friendly.
Sai Kishore, a left-arm spinner, was in the middle of his fourth and final over when Pandya paddled one to fine leg for a boundary. Off the next, Pandya skipped forward and offered a defensive shot.
And that’s when tempers flared.
Sai Kishore gave a death stare to his former captain who responded in kind.
And with the two threatening to come dangerously close to each other, the on-field umpire made a timely intervention. Pandya ended the staredown with an X-rated expletive.
It wasn’t an evening that Pandya though would remember fondly as MI suffered their second defeat in as many matches of the ongoing season.
Chasing a stiff target of 197 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, the five-time IPL champions produced another below-par show with the bat and managed 160/6 in 20 overs.
Pandya himself played a scratchy innings of 17-ball 11.
Suryakumar Yadav was the visiting side’s top-scorer, hitting 28-ball 48 while the next best came from the bat of Tilak Varma who scored 39 off 36.
For GT, Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj picked up two wickets each while Sai Kishore and Rabada chipped in with a wicket each.
GT’s innings was powered by their opening pair of Sai Sudharsan (63) and Shubman Gill (38) while Jos Buttler also played a fine innings of 39 off 24 as they racked up 196/8.
GT thus secured their first win of the season after opening campaign with a defeat to Punjab Kings in a high-scoring affair.