Picture : @IPL/X
Five-time winners Mumbai Indians began their quest for the Tata IPL 2026 with strong statement as they beat Kolkata Kanight Riders by six wickets at Wankhede, Mumbai .
Earlier, MI Skipper Hardik Pandya won the toss and opted to bowl first . KKR were off to blazing start thanks to openers Skipper Ajinkya rahane and Kiwi Finn Allen. The duo put on 69 in 5.2 overs before Finn Allen fell for 37 ( 17 balls, 6 fours, 2 sixes), Rahane on the other hand played cpatain’s knock of 67 ( 40 balls, 3 fours 5 sixes) setting the stage for a big KKR total .
The most expensive player in Tata IPL 2026 Rs 25. 2 crore Aussie All-rounder Cameron Green was out for just 18, Angkrish Raghuvanshi scored a fine 51 ( 29 balls , 6 fours, 2 sixes), Rinku Singh not out 33 and Ramandeep Singh not out 4 as KKR eventually finished strongly at 220/4 in their 20 overs. But would it be enough against the MI batting line-up? was the question,
MI bowling : Trent Boult 0/38 ( 4 overs), Hardik Pandya 1/39 ( 3 overs), AM Ghazanfar 0/51 ( 4 overs), Jasprit Bumrah 0/35 ( 4 overs), Shardul Thakur 3/39 ( 4 overs), Mayank Markande 0/16 (1 over)
Chasing a big KKR total one thought MI would be cautious , But MI openers Rohit Sharma and South African Ryan Rickelton had other ideas. The duo made the chase ridiculously easy with breath-taking opening stand that took the game away from KKR
Rohit Sharma looikng fit and young smashed a fine 78 ( 38 balls, 6 fours, 6 sixes), His fellow partner Rickelton too was brilliant scoring a aggressive 81 ( 43 balls, 3 fours, 8 sixes) . The duo put on a stunning 148 for the first wicket in 11. 5 overs when Rohit was first to be dismissed.
Flawless! Ryan Rickelton’s rollicking 81(43) in the chase 👏
WATCH 🔽 | #TATAIPL | #KhelBindaas | #MIvKKR | @mipaltan https://t.co/aWGis2JaII
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 29, 2026
There was a minor hiccup as impact player Suryakumar Yadav was out for 16, Tilak Varma scoring 20 before he was out . But Skipper Hardik Pandya not out 18 and Naman Dhir not out 5 saw MI home reaching 224/4 in 19.1 overs and win by six wickets . Rinku captained KKR as Rahane was off the field and the pressure was evident .
KKR bowling looked weak Vaibhav Arora 1/52 ( 4 overs) Zimbabwean Blessing Muzarabani 0/34 ( 3 overs), Varun Chakaravarthy 0/48 ( 4 overs) struggled , Kartik Tyagi 1/43 ( 4 overs ), Sunil Narine 1/30 ( 3 overs), Anukul Roy 0/15 ( 1.1 overs)
Match: IPL 2026, 2nd Match
Venue: Mumbai | Date: March 29, 2026
