In an unfortunate incident, an Indian Premier League (IPL) fan died after being beaten for celebrating the wicket of Mumbai Indians batter Rohit Sharma. The incident happened in Kolhapur district of Indian state of Maharashtra during MI’s match against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) on March 27. Mumbai had lost the match by 31 runs after failing to chase a record total of 277.

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Rohit, who was replaced as MI skipper by Hardik Pandya ahead of the ongoing season, scored 26 off 12 balls during the chase before getting out in the fifth over. The deceased, Bandopant Tibile (63), reported to have celebrated the wicket after which he was attacked by his friend Balawant Jhanjge (50) and his nephew Sagar Jhanjge. Fans have been divided ever since Pandya’s appointment as franchise skipper.

The incident happened in Kolhapur’s Karveer tehsil where the victim and the accused were watching the match at a common friend’s house in Hanmantwadi village. Tibile was admitted to the hospital after being beaten by a wooden block and succumbed to his injuries on Saturday (Mar 30).

Police, who had arrested the accused on charge of attempt to murder, have now booked both for murder under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). 

As for the match, SRH took MI bowlers to cleaners as Hyderabad posted IPL’s highest total of 277/8. MI although posted 246/5 in 20 overs they ended up losing the game. Skipper Pandya’s innings of 24 off 20 balls faced a lot of heat due to slow strike rate in a high-octane chase.

While rest of the MI batters did get starts in the match against SRH, batting still remains a concern for MI. They’ll hope to turn it around at their home ground in Wankhede – a batting paradise – when they face Rajasthan Royals (RR) on April 1.

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