It’s been 14 years since MI won their opening game in the IPL.
Yes, you read that right. MI has not won its opening game in the IPL since 2012. However, that changed when MI faced KKR in IPL 2026. They were chasing a daunting target of 221 runs. Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickelton effortlessly chased down a mammoth total to give their team a decisive win in their opening game.
Kolkata Knight Riders batted first, and their openers, Rahane and Allen, provided a solid foundation for their team. Allen was trapped by Thakur in the 6th over for a team total of 69 runs.
On the flat Wankhede pitch, every KKR player played to their strength and posted a mammoth 220 on the board. Even the great Bumrah couldn’t do much on a flat surface. However, he was the only bowler across both teams to go under 9 per over.
It would require MI to put extraordinary effort into scaling that total down.
MI openers provided exactly what their team needed, and they shredded the KKR attack in the powerplay overs. At that time, they made 80/0 with Rohit completing his half-century. Rohit stole the show in this partnership as he recorded his fastest fifty in the IPL (23 balls). After that, both batters batted sensibly and put a partnership of nearly 150 runs for the first wicket. This partnership set the tone for Mumbai’s innings.
After Suryakumar Yadav came out to bat, he didn’t last very long. But he had the cushion of extra runs as the team was already ahead of the required rate throughout the innings.
KKR had no answers for the MI carnage. Rahane was helpless as he marshaled his troops. It didn’t help either when he went off the field with cramps.
Now, KKR will head home for a few home games at Eden Gardens. They will play their first match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 2. On the other hand, MI will board the flight to the national capital Delhi to play Delhi Capitals on April 4.
