31 March,2010 07:12 AM IST | | Sudheendra Tripathi
The way Kings XI Punjab leggie Piyush Chawla was jeered by Mumbai Indians fans at the Brabourne Stadium yesterday, it seems the IPL bosses' dream of city-based loyalty has materialised sooner than expected.
It all started when Mumbai Indians' Kieron Pollard was brought down by Chawla as he was scampering for a single and Pollard had to struggle to make his ground. Though Chawla immediately apologised, he had become the villain for Indians supporters. There was a roar in the stadium with slogans like 'Ek do, ek do, Chawla ko phenk do' and 'Chawla sucks', each time the leg-spinner came to field towards the south end of the ground.
Incidentally, Sachin Tendulkar's dismissal during a Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Daredevils game at Delhi's Feroze Shah Kotla was welcomed with a humongous roar during the first edition of the IPL. Chawla might have been at the receiving end of the crowd, but Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga and Jharkhand's Saurabh Tiwary are certainly the favourites. Each time Malinga came to bowl, he was welcomed with a huge applause and a roar. Same goes for Tiwari. And the duo didn't disappoint the crowd either. While Malinga picked four wickets off his four overs at the expense of 22 runs, Tiwari scored a brisk 23-ball 31 as Mumbai Indians chased down the visitors' total of 163 with four wickets to spare.
