R Sai Kishore breaks silence on staredown with Hardik Pandya during GT vs MI: ‘Inside the field, anybody is an opponent

Shubman Gill-led Gujarat Titans got the better of Mumbai Indians by 36 runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad in Match 9 of the ongoing 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The biggest talking point of the match was the staredown between MI skipper Hardik Pandya and GT spinner R Sai Kishore. However, after the game ended, Sai Kishore played down the incident, calling Hardik a “good friend.”

The incident happened on the fourth delivery of the 15th over. Hardik pushed back the delivery back towards the bowler. Sai Kishore then stared him down as he went to collect the ball. The Mumbai Indians skipper then gestured towards him by swinging his arm and mouthed an expletive.

The spinner did not back down from the contest as he continued to stare down Hardik. The umpire then quickly rushed to the middle to block the players as they were getting closer to each other.

After the IPL contest ended, Ian Bishop interviewed Sai Kishore for the host broadcaster. The first question was, “No love lost with Hardik?”

To this, the spinner replied, “He’s a good friend of mine, inside the field it should be like that. Inside the field, anybody is an opponent, but we don’t take things personally.”

“We are good competitors. That’s how I think the game should be,” he added. It must be mentioned that both Hardik and Sai Kishore also hugged each other once the game was done.

‘Hoping for a wonderful season’

Gujarat Titans bowlers were right on the radar as the hosts defended 196 runs by restricting Mumbai Indians to 160/6 in the allotted twenty overs. Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna both returned with two wickets each.

Sai Kishore was also exceptional with the ball, taking one wicket and conceding 37 runs in his quota of four overs. He also stopped Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma from going big in the middle overs, which created a lot of pressure on the Mumbai Indians’ middle and lower order.

“I wasn’t getting as much purchase today, so had to bowl defensively and had to do a job for the team. The pitch played better than it looked. Suryakumar Yadav played well, he swept all my good length balls. If someone plays a good shot, you have to credit the batter,” said Sai Kishore.

“I did things that felt instinctively and have to credit Shubman as well, he kept advising me on what to bowl to Surya since he’s seen him in the Indian nets. Looking forward to this season, I’ve been very honest with myself and worked very hard. Have watched a lot of games and worked on a lot of things for this season, so lets hope this is a wonderful season,” he added.

Earlier, Gujarat Titans posted 196/8 in the allotted 20 overs, owing to a 63-run knock by Sai Sudharsan. Shubman Gill and Jos Buttler played useful knocks of 38 and 39, respectively.