Mumbai, March 30: In an exciting start to IPL 2026, the Mumbai Indians (MI) secured a victory against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by six wickets at Wankhede Stadium. This marks MI’s first win in the opening match of a season since 2012.
Chasing a target of 221 runs, MI had a strong start thanks to explosive innings from Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickelton. The duo put together a remarkable partnership of 148 runs for the first wicket in just 11.5 overs. Rohit scored 78 runs off 38 balls, hitting six fours and six sixes. He reached his fifty in just 23 balls, marking his fastest half-century in IPL history and his 50th overall.
Rickelton also made a significant contribution, scoring 81 runs off 43 balls, including eight sixes and four fours. Surya Kumar Yadav managed 16 runs off eight balls, while Tilak Varma added 20 runs off 14 balls. Hardik Pandya scored 18 runs off 11 balls, and Naman Gheer remained not out with five runs. MI finished their innings with 224 runs for the loss of four wickets, sealing the win on the first ball of the 20th over.
For KKR, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi, and Sunil Narine each took one wicket. KKR batted first after losing the toss, scoring 220 runs for the loss of four wickets. Captain Ajinkya Rahane led the charge with 67 runs from 40 balls, hitting five sixes and three fours. Youngster Angkrish Raghuwanshi also made a notable contribution with a half-century, scoring 51 runs off 29 balls with two sixes and six fours. Finn Allen added 37 runs off 17 balls, while Rinku Singh scored an unbeaten 33 runs off 21 balls. Cameron Green chipped in with 18 runs off 10 balls.
For MI, Shardul Thakur took three wickets for 39 runs in four overs, while captain Hardik Pandya claimed one wicket for 39 runs in three overs.
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