IPL 2024: 3 players who starred and 2 who flopped in the RR vs MI match ft. Hardik Pandya & Yashasvi Jaiswal

The Mumbai Indians (MI) stumbled to another defeat in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) as the Rajasthan Royals (RR) thumped them by nine wickets in Jaipur on Monday, April 22.

The five-time champions had amassed slight momentum heading into the clash, with three wins in their last four matches, but it all came crumbling down. They managed only 179/9 in decent batting conditions, a score that was scaled down with ease by the hosts in the penultimate over.

On that note, here are three players who starred and two who flopped in the RR vs MI IPL 2024 match.

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#5 Star - Yashasvi Jaiswal (RR)

Yashasvi Jaiswal had endured a lean run ahead of the MI clash, but he roared back to form against one of his favorite oppositions.

Jaiswal had to fight through a testing powerplay, with Gerald Coetzee, Jasprit Bumrah, and Nuwan Thushara all asking questions of him. He got a few boundaries away and played sensibly, before unleashing the best version of himself in the middle overs.

Jaiswal will hope that the rest of his IPL 2024 campaign will produce similar returns.

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#4 Flop - Hardik Pandya (MI)

Hardik has had a rough season [Image Courtesy: iplt20.com]

MI's captain has had a rough season so far, and things didn't get any better in Jaipur.

Hardik Pandya bizarrely opted to bat first after winning the toss, a decision that was always going to backfire. He struggled to put bat to ball after coming in with three overs to spare, meandering along at a run a ball before missing a full toss.

Hardik's captaincy was also woeful as he refused to bring back his strike bowlers when Jaiswal and Sanju Samson were running away with the game. He bowled himself for two overs at crucial junctures and failed to deliver, although he was unlucky not to get Samson's wicket.

Even his fielding wasn't on point. Hardik has a lot of work to do if he is to win back the support of the MI fans.

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#3 Star - Sandeep Sharma (RR)

Sandeep Sharma picked up five [Image Courtesy: iplt20.com]

Returning to the side after missing out due to a niggle, Sandeep Sharma proved his immense worth.

Handed the new ball for the first time in IPL 2024, Sandeep brought his skills to the fore by having Ishan Kishan caught behind and Suryakumar Yadav deceived by a slower one. He came back to produce three more breakthroughs in a stellar final over to register his maiden T20 five-fer.

Sandeep is one of the most underrated performers in IPL history.

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#2 Flop - Rohit Sharma (MI)

Rohit Sharma [center] couldn't continue his good form [Image Courtesy: iplt20.com]

The scorecard read Rohit Sharma (c) Sanju Samson (b) Trent Boult once again. And unlike the reverse fixture, where he got a beauty, this was all Rohit's fault.

The MI opener simply had to play out the first over, where Boult is at his most dangerous. He instead attempted a wild hoick across the line that was safely held by Samson.

Rohit's intent and promising form have been welcome to watch, but he crossed the line against RR and paid the price.

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#1 Star - Tilak Varma (MI)

Tilak Varma has bailed MI out of a few tricky situations in a fledgling IPL career, even if none of his half-centuries have resulted in wins. The plucky southpaw came up with another important contribution after Mumbai lost three wickets in the powerplay and another shortly after the field restrictions were lifted.

Tilak attacked both pace and spin capably, striking five fours and three sixes in a knock that revived his team's innings. His fifty took them closer to a defendable total as he bridged attack and strike rotation smartly. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough.