IPL 2025: Hardik Pandya, Sai Kishore in fiery faceoff during GT vs MI clash (VIDEO)

Ahmedabad: A fiery stare-down between Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya and Gujarat Titans' spinner R Sai Kishore became the biggest talking point of the ninth match of IPL 2025 at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Saturday.

The incident occurred in the 15th over of Mumbai Indians' chase, with Pandya appearing to yell an expletive at Kishore after a sequence of dot balls. Though the words were inaudible on camera, his lip movements left little doubt about the exchange.

<

GAME 

Hardik Pandya  Sai Kishore - teammates then, rivals now! 

Watch the LIVE action https://t.co/VU1zRx9cWp #IPLonJioStar vMI | LIVE NOW on Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 Hindi, & JioHotstar pic.twitter.com/2p1SMHQdqc

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) March 29, 2025 >

While the altercation generated buzz, the players were later seen embracing after the match, suggesting that tempers had cooled.

<

Hardik Pandya hugging Sai Kishore after the match - A lovely moment  pic.twitter.com/uRUy20InDE

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) March 29, 2025 >

Addressing the incident, Sai Kishore played down any animosity, stating, "He’s a good friend of mine. Inside the field, it should be like that, but we don’t take things personally."

Pandya made his return as Mumbai Indians' skipper after missing the season opener against Chennai Super Kings due to a one-match ban for slow over-rate in the previous season. He led MI to opt for bowling first after winning the toss against Gujarat Titans.