Rajasthan Royals (RR) displayed dominance as they comfortably defeated Hardik Pandya‘s Mumbai Indians (MI) by a substantial nine-wicket margin in Match 38 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur on Monday (Apr 22).
Rajasthan Royals’ dominant victory over Mumbai Indians
Choosing to bat first, MI managed to put up a challenging score of 179/9 on the board, with Tilak Varma‘s impressive knock of 65 runs from 45 deliveries and Nehal Wadhera‘s rapid-fire 49 off just 24 balls contributing significantly. Despite their efforts, MI faced the daunting task of countering Sandeep Sharma‘s remarkable bowling performance, who finished with exceptional figures of 5/18. In response, RR’s Yashasvi Jaiswal‘s unbeaten century of 104 and skipper Sanju Samson‘s solid contribution of 38 not out led their team to a comfortable victory in 18.4 overs.
Hardik Pandya’s professionalism in post-match presentation
This defeat marked the fifth loss for MI in eight games of the season. During the post-match presentation, MI skipper Hardik maintained composure, refraining from criticizing his players and highlighting their professionalism instead.
“Overall, we did not put the right foot on the park and eventually they outplayed us. After the game, it’s not the right time to go to the players, everyone is professional, they know their roles. What we can do is learn from this game and the mistakes which we have made, rectify it and make sure that we don’t make it. Progression is very important,” Hardik said.
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Dale Steyn voices frustration over clichéd post-match statements
Expressing dissatisfaction, retired pace maestro Dale Steyn, who has represented multiple franchises in the IPL, voiced his discontent with the clichéd phrases used by Hardik during the post-match presentation. Although Steyn did not directly mention the MI skipper, his passionate post on X (formerly Twitter) hinted at his frustration with Pandya’s conservative approach.
“I really look forward to the day players might say what’s honestly on their mind. Instead we some how dumbed ourselves and our minds into saying the usual safe thing, lose the next game, smile and then repeat that nonsense again. PS. Qdk, I love you” the post reads.
I really look forward to the day players might say what’s honestly on their mind. Instead we some how dumbed ourselves and our minds into saying the usual safe thing, lose the next game, smile and then repeat that nonsense again. 🙄
PS. Qdk, I love you
— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) April 22, 2024
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