On Monday evening, Rajsthan Royals and Mumbai Indians faced off in match 38 of IPL 2024 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, with the visitors desperate for a win.
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Batting first, MI were reduced to 20/3 in the Powerplay, before youngsters Tilak Varma and Nehal Wadhera led a recovery effort, helping MI post 179/9. Sandeep Sharma was the star with the ball, as he picked up 5/18.
In response, RR openers Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 61 in the Powerplay before Jaiswal went on to score an unbeaten century and help RR secure a nine-wicket win with eight deliveries to spare.
'Managed poorly on the field' - Irfan Pathan takes a dig at Hardik Pandya
The loss was MI's fifth of the season, in eight matches. The five-time champions are now running out of time to save their campaign which is in danger of being derailed very soon. To add to their woes, their three wins have only come against the three teams below them in the table.
In a now-deleted post on X (formerly Twitter), former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan appeared to take a dig at new Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya, claiming that they were a solid team, but 'managed poorly on the field'.
Mumbai Indians are lacking a good plan on field 👀#MI #IPL2024 #RRvsMI #Insidesport #crickettwitter pic.twitter.com/18yaC9f8H6
— InsideSport (@InsideSportIND) April 22, 2024
Pandya was the focus of the IPL ahead of the player auction in December, when MI struck a big-money deal to bring him back to the franchise from Gujarat Titans, subsequently making him captain. He has endured a difficult season with bat and ball as well, and his place in India's squad for the T20 World Cup could come under question soon.
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