Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 gets off to a good start; In match number 2, Mumbai Indians (MI) defeated Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 6 wickets. This was their first win in the first game of IPL after 14 years.
MI faced KKR at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. MI won the toss and decided to field first. KKR started with captain Ajinkya Rahane and Finn Allen and made a great start by scoring 78 runs in the powerplay.
KKR openers gave a good start
This was the over in which Rahane scored 26 runs in the second over of Hardik Pandya. Allen lost the wicket after giving the Knights the much-needed start, scoring 37 runs in 17 balls before being succeeded by Shardul Thakur.
Thakur also took the second wicket for the team, Cameron Green was out after scoring 18 runs in 10 balls. Rahane returned to the dugout after scoring 67 runs in 40 balls. After this Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Rinku Singh controlled the game a bit and gave the momentum back to KKR.
The former scored a half-century and was out on the score of 51 runs in 29 balls. Rinku scored 33 runs in 21 balls and KKR finished with a good score of 220/4.
Rohit Sharma’s show at Wankhede Stadium
Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickelton gave MI a fast start in the chase; Both the batsmen took responsibility in the power play. The former player scored a half-century of 50 runs in 22 balls and looked dangerous in the run chase. During the game, Knights captain Rahane limped off the field and Rinku Singh took over the captaincy. MI were 80/0 in the power play.
MI made a partnership of 100 runs for the first wicket. Both the openers looked in tremendous form and thrashed the KKR bowlers all over the field. Rohit was out on the score of 78 runs off 38 balls and he was completely aggressive that night. With 148 runs on the board, the first wicket fell and MI won the match with five balls to spare.
But these boys will learn – Ajinkya Rahane
During the post-match presentation, Ajinkya Rahane gave an update on his injury and felt that it was fine and it was just a cramp. Despite poor performance, he supported his bowlers. He also gave an update on Cameron Green not bowling in the match.
Rahane said, “Feeling fine but there is a lot of cramping, especially in my calves. Hopefully I will recover. It was really tough.” [for bowlers]. Inexperienced bowling attack, but these boys will learn. Strong batting lineup. So this is a learning period. I thought MI batted well. So our bowlers will definitely learn. [On playing the way at his age] I’m still young, KP [Kevin Pietersen]”
“But yes, at the moment I am really happy with the way I am batting. Hopefully Green will start bowling soon and the combinations will be a little different. We batted really well but it is really important to have balance with the ball. [On why Green can’t bowl] You need to ask this question to Cricket Australia.”
He concluded by saying, “[On positives] We batted well and I thought Kartik Tyagi bowled well. Played a while later but he was really good. There are a lot of positives and a long way to go.”
Also Read: IPL Points Table 2026: Updated Standings, Orange Cap, Purple Cap after MI vs KKR Match No. 2
