Virat Kohli (69*) starred in the first match of the Indian Premier League 2026, followed by Rohit Sharma (78) in the second. On Sunday, the Hitman shared a match-winning partnership (148) with Ryan Rickelton (81) to secure Mumbai's victory. In the second match of IPL 2026, played at the Wankhede Stadium, the Mumbai Indians defeated the Kolkata Knight Riders by six wickets.

Mumbai Indians have won their IPL opening match after 14 years. The last time they won their opening match was in 2012. Mumbai Indians also completed their highest run chase (221) in IPL history. In 2021, Mumbai chased down 219 against Chennai Super Kings.

Kolkata set a target of 221 runs

Thanks to innings from captain Ajinkya Rahane (67) and Angkrish Raghuvanshi (51), Kolkata Knight Riders set a challenging target of 221 runs for Mumbai Indians. Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya won the toss and decided to bowl first. Batting first, Kolkata Knight Riders scored 220 runs for the loss of four wickets in 20 overs. Mumbai achieved this target in the 20th over by losing four wickets.

Rahane-Allen gave a quick start

Ajinkya Rahane and Finn Allen put the team in a strong position, adding quick runs for the first wicket. The team scored quickly in the powerplay and kept the pressure on the Mumbai bowlers. However, KKR suffered their first blow in the final over of the powerplay.

Finn Allen was dismissed on the second ball of the sixth over. Allen scored 37 runs in 17 balls, hitting six fours and two sixes. He and captain Ajinkya Rahane provided the team with a 69-run opening partnership in 32 balls.

Rahane played a captaincy innings

Captain Ajinkya Rahane played a responsible captaincy innings against Mumbai on his home ground. Batting aggressively, Rahane reached his half-century in 27 balls with the help of three fours and four sixes. He provided a strong foundation for the team's score by scoring 67 runs in 40 balls. Meanwhile, Cameron Green failed to play a big innings and fell to Shardul Thakur after scoring 18 runs in 10 balls. Despite Green's early dismissal, Kolkata's run rate was not significantly affected.

Angkrish and Rinku made a half-century partnership

Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Rinku Singh steadied the innings in the middle overs, pushing the team towards a big score. The two batsmen added a crucial 60-run partnership for the fourth wicket in 30 balls. Angkrish scored a brilliant half-century, scoring 51 runs off 29 balls.

He kept the Mumbai bowlers under pressure by scoring quickly throughout his innings. Meanwhile, Rinku Singh also made a useful contribution in the final overs, scoring 33 runs off 21 balls to help his team reach 220.

Hardik proved to be expensive

Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya proved expensive in this match. He bowled the fourth over of the innings, with Ajinkya Rahane and Finn Allen at the crease. Both batsmen batted aggressively in this over, scoring 26 runs. This is the joint second-highest number of runs conceded by Hardik Pandya in a single over in the IPL. Previously, he had conceded 26 runs in an over against Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium in 2024.

Mumbai bowlers flopped

Mumbai's bowlers struggled throughout the match. The Hardik Pandya-led team used six bowlers, but apart from Shardul Thakur and Hardik Pandya, no other bowler was successful. Shardul Thakur took three wickets for 39 runs in four overs, providing some relief to the team. Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya took one wicket for 39 runs in three overs. Apart from this, Trent Boult, Allah Ghazanfar, Jasprit Bumrah and Mayank Markande did not get any success.

Mumbai openers opened the threads

Chasing 221, Mumbai Indians' opening pair came into the field already set from the pavilion. Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickelton attacked the Kolkata bowlers as soon as they arrived. Neither of them showed any signs of stopping. Rohit Sharma reached his fifty on the last ball of the powerplay. He reached his fifty in 23 balls. This is his fastest fifty in the IPL. After Rohit, Rickelton also scored a half-century. He reached this figure in 24 balls.

Most 50+ runs in IPL

• 72 - Virat Kohli
• 66 - David Warner
• 53 - Shikhar Dhawan
• 50 - Rohit Sharma*
• 45 - KL Rahul

Century completed in 9 overs

Mumbai's score had crossed 100 in the ninth over. Ryan was given a life on the second ball of the 10th over. Vaibhav Arora dropped Rickelton's catch. Then, Rohit Sharma's aerial show with Ryan continued at Wankhede. Both were weaving their innings with sixes and fours. The fans were getting a value-for-money match, and they were cheering their team on.

Rohit Sharma scored 78 runs

Rohit Sharma's innings ended on the fifth ball of the 12th over. Anukul Roy took a brilliant catch, running backwards, off Vaibhav Sharma. The former Mumbai captain batted at a strike rate of 205.26 and scored 78 runs off 38 balls. During his innings, the Hitman smashed six fours and as many sixes. Rohit and Roy added 148 runs for the first wicket off 71 balls.

Mumbai's highest partnership in IPL

• 167* - Rohit and Gibbs vs KKR, Kolkata, 2012 (2nd wicket)
• 163* - Dwayne Smith and Tendulkar vs Rajasthan, Jaipur, 2012 (1st wicket)
• 148 - Rohit & Ryan vs KKR, Wankhede, 2026 (1st wicket)*
• 143* - Suryakumar and Tilak Varma vs Hyderabad, Wankhede, 2024 (4th wicket)

Most runs against an opponent in IPL

1161 runs: Rohit Sharma vs Kolkata*
1159 runs: Virat Kohli vs Punjab
1146 runs: Virat Kohli vs Chennai
1134 runs: David Warner vs Punjab
1130 runs: Virat Kohli vs Delhi
1093 runs: David Warner vs Kolkata

Suryakumar Yadav's short innings

Suryakumar Yadav then came in as an impact player at number 3. Surya hit some good shots before his innings ended in the lap of Rinku Singh. Sky scored 16 runs off 8 balls. Impact player Kartik Tyagi took Surya's wicket.

Ryan's innings ended with a run out.

Ryan, who was on pace for a century, was unfortunately run out. Anukul Roy's direct throw off Blessing Muzarabani, who had left the Pakistan Super League to play in the IPL, sent him packing. The Mumbai opener scored 81 runs off 43 balls, including four fours and eight sixes.

Ryan played the ball to long-off and took a single. He looked to take a second, but Tilak sent him back to the pavilion. Muzarabani had momentarily gotten in Ryan's way, so Rickelton couldn't return to the crease.

Sunil Narine dismissed Tilak Varma in the 19th over. Tilak scored 20 runs off 14 balls. Captain Hardik Pandya remained unbeaten on 18 and Naman Dheer on 5. For Kolkata, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi, and Sunil Narine took one wicket each.

PC:Jagran