Mumbai Indians’ (MI) woes did not improve with a return to their home pitch, as they suffered their third consecutive defeat in the 2024 Indian Premier League. The Rajasthan Royals (RR) outplayed the five-time winners in all areas at Wankhede Stadium on Monday, April 1.
After being sent to bat first by Sanju Samson, Mumbai Indians had a disastrous start, with three of their top-order hitters removed for golden ducks. Trent Boult and Nandre Burger used ball talk on the powerplay to do significant damage.
Yuzvendra Chahal took three wickets, targeting the middle and lower order after the new ball. Despite Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma’s quick runs, Mumbai Indians struggled, finishing on a low score of 125-9.
Fans lambasted Mumbai Indians poor start to the season on social media. Here are some reactions on Twitter:
“We were in a decent position to give us a chance to get to 150-160” – Hardik Pandya
MI had consolidated their innings to an extent at 76-4 thanks to Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma’s combination. However, MI lost the plot again, being reduced to 95-7 in the 14th over and relying on the tail to get them over the 100-run mark.
Hardik said that his expulsion by Yuzvendra Chahal was a watershed moment in the game.
“Yes indeed a tough night. We didn’t start the way we wanted to start. A tough night. We were in a decent position to give us a chance to get to 150-160. My wicket turned it around. It should have done a lot better. It’s good to have good bowlers. Don’t mind playing on this wicket to be honest. I mean absolutely right. It’s all about doing the right things. Sometimes it happens sometimes it doesn’t. As a group we believe we can pull off a lot of things if we perform better,” Pandya said during the post-match presentation.
Hardik Pandya
MI are next slated to play the Delhi Capitals (DC) at home on Sunday, April 7.
