Rohit & Rickelton Power MI to Record 6-Wicket Win Over KKR, Ending 14-Year Opener Drought

March 30, 2026: The Mumbai Indians ended their long wait to start an IPL season with a win as Hardik Pandya and his team played very well in their IPL 2026 opener against Kolkata Knight Riders. MI had not won an IPL opening match since 2012. Their 6-wicket win over Ajinkya Rahane’s team ended a 13-year wait. It was also MI’s highest successful run chase in IPL history, beating their previous best of 219 against CSK in 2021.

The five-time IPL champions had never chased a target above 220 in seven earlier attempts. On Sunday, MI broke two jinxes by chasing 221 in 19.1 overs, winning comfortably by six wickets.

Rohit Sharma scored 78 off 38 balls, while Ryan Rickelton made 81 off 43. The pair put together 148 runs for the first wicket in just 72 balls.

KKR came into the game with a weak bowling attack. On Sunday, this was clear as Vaibhav Arora and Blessing Muzarabani bowled without threat, Varun Chakravarthy was not effective, and Sunil Narine was much slower than before.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐉𝐈𝐍𝐗 𝐇𝐀𝐒 𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐍!!! 🥹

We Repeat: 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐉𝐈𝐍𝐗 𝐇𝐀𝐒 𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐍!!! 🥹🥹 pic.twitter.com/j8rlBRe8QW

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) March 29, 2026

KKR Starts Strong, MI Fights Back

Put into bat, KKR looked set for a bigger total, thanks to half-centuries from Ajinkya Rahane (67) and Angkrish Raghuvanshi (51). Finn Allen scored 37 off 17 balls, taking on debutant Allah Ghazanfar and helping KKR reach 78/1 in the powerplay. KKR crossed 100 in eight overs and looked in control.

Debutant Shardul Thakur kept MI in the game, taking three important wickets — Allen, Cameron Green, and Rahane — finishing with 3/39. Even with his effort, KKR still scored a strong 220/4.

MI’s Fiery Chase

Rohit Sharma started strongly, hitting powerful shots and keeping good timing. Rickelton matched him, reaching his fifty in just 24 balls. By halfway, MI were 122/0, and the opening stand grew to 148 runs in 12 overs, putting MI in full control.

Rohit was out for 78, dismissed by Vaibhav Arora, but the chase continued. KKR tried to fight back, with Kartik Tyagi removing Suryakumar Yadav for 16 and Rickelton run out after 81. Still, MI held strong and finished the game with a six-wicket win.

Brief score:

Kolkata Knight Riders: 220/4
Mumbai Indians: 224/4 (19.1 overs)
Result: Mumbai Indians won by 6 wickets with 5 balls remaining