Watch: A risky exchange of ends between Hardik Pandya and an unusually sprightly Harbhajan Singh, 13 years his senior, during an IPL 2017 game left the Mumbai Indians camp in complete splits.
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Chasing 159 to win against SRH in their league stage game, Mumbai Indians had Pandya and Harbhajan in the middle with the equation down to 3 required off 11 balls. Facing Mustafizur Rahman, Harbhajan, the No.8, clipped the second ball of the 19th over off his pads, and sauntered across for a change of ends, probably expecting Pandya to finish off the proceedings.
Pandya, however, wasn’t too keen on keeping the strike either; on seeing that the deep midwicket fielder was taking his time to approach the ball, the all-rounder called Harbhajan back for a double.
By the time Harbhajan finished his first, Pandya was off for his second, prompting the senior teammate to bring a bit more zest in his running. It wasn’t easy though; Harbhajan’s knees, carrying the load of 367 international games, perhaps didn’t respond as well as he would have liked, and he waddled across the pitch, desperately trying to make his ground.
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The wayward throw helped, and Harbhajan somehow made it, but the apparent uneasiness made it one amusing frame, eliciting laughter from the Mumbai Indians camp.
Sachin Tendulkar, the team mentor, laughed his heart out, clapping at Harbhajan’s dedication with Parthiv Patel by his side. Rohit Sharma, in the dugout, was far less subtle with his amusement, cracking up to the extent that he had to bury his smiling face in his hands. “Covering his face out of respect,” said Sanjay Manjrekar on air. “Can’t laugh that openly!”
Watch the moment here: