VIDEO | Hardik Pandya gets involved in aggressive 'stare battle' with Hardus Viljoen

04/11/2019

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As the saying goes, the eyes can say what words fail to express at times. That seemed to be the case when Mumbai Indians all-rounder Hardik Pandya appeared to have an aggressive ‘stare-down’ with Kings XI Punjab’s Hardus Viljoen after the former knocked him for 15 runs in the 12th over last night.

Mumbai Indians pulled off a stunning win at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday after a Kieron Pollard-inspire effort helped them bag all three points against Kings XI Punjab. In the absence of skipper Rohit Sharma, the home team fought hard to chase down the target of 198 set by Punjab courtesy of some big scores from openers KL Rahul and Chris Gayle.

However, the match between the two teams turned out to be a fiery affair. One of the on-field incidents that occurred last night took place between MI’s Hardik Pandya and KXIP’s Hardus Viljoen.

Pandya, know for his notoriety on and off the pitch, was at the striker's end as Viljoen ran up to bowl the 12th over at a crucial stage in the innings. After five-run wide off the first delivery, Pandya smacked Viljoen for a boundary of the next ball to irk the foreign pacer.

But Viljoen recovered quickly and managed to prevent any more boundaries for the rest of the over. However, after bowling six legal deliveries, the South African bowler appeared to walk towards Pandya. The two cricketers came within inches of each other and were engrossed in an aggressive ‘stare-down’. We don’t know if its the weather or something else, but things are definitely getting hot in the IPL!