IPL 2026: Rohit Sharma and Rickelton dismiss MI to score chase, ending 13-year jinx | Cricket News –

Mumbai: Finally, Mumbai Indians ended their jinx of losing the first match in the Indian Premier League, an unwanted habit they had carried for 13 long seasons – from 2013 to 2025.In fact, on Sunday night at the Wankhede Stadium, that unwanted record looked set to continue as the Kolkata Knight Riders raced away to a total of 220 for four after being asked to bat first.

However, their openers, South African wicketkeeper-batsman Ryan Rickleton (81, 43b, 4×4, 8×6) and former skipper Rohit Sharma (78, 38b, 6×4, 6×6), who turned back the clock with some blistering knocks, blasted KKR with their 148-run swinging opening stand, which took just 72 balls. The issue was never in doubt, despite the home team losing some late wickets.MI’s emphatic six-wicket win in the high-scoring match, which came with five balls to spare, gave their vociferous fans plenty of encouragement.

The first two days of IPL 2026 have now seen them chasing over 200 totals with ease, almost comically, which tells you how tough life is for IPL bowlers. Currently, the competition between bat and ball is heavily lopsided in favor of the bat in the league.In a strange twist, Indian T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav emerged as an influential player and smashed eight 16-ball 16s (3×4).Turning back the clock, Rohit unleashed some big sixes, with his trademark shot for a six in the sixth over Kartik Tyagi, while skipper Hardik Pandya (18 not out off 11 balls, 3 x 4) finished the job.

And to make matters worse for the visitors, their captain

Ajinkya Rahane

who smashed a fine 67 (40b, 3×4, 5×6) earlier, had to leave the field due to cramps, leaving his deputy Rinku Singh to lead the team. What should really worry KKR going forward is also the poor form of their key player Varun Chakravarthy, who has conceded 0-48 in four overs and is clearly struggling for rhythm.Earlier, KKR batsmen were across the spectrum, big hitters

My bet

And young gun Angkrish Raghuvanshi (51, 29b, 4×4, 2×6), smashed blazing fifties, while New Zealand openers Finn Allen (37 off 18 balls, 6×4, 2×6) and Rinku Singh (33 not out, 21b, 4×4) chipped in with a lively cameo to take KKR to a massive total.On a night that saw the Mumbai players get the spotlight in front of their home fans, Total Mumbai

Shardul Thakur

He was not meant to be left behind, which contributed vitally to MI’s win. Marking a brilliant outing for MI, the ‘Palghar Express’ took three for 39 in four overs and were the pick of the bowlers on both sides in a match that saw the world’s top pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah (0-38 in four overs) gone for one.Thakur dismissed Allen (caught at long-on) in the sixth over to provide MI with the much-needed breakthrough at a time when KKR’s openers were on a rampage.

Using slow balls and his variations intelligently, the 34-year-old took a scalp worth Rs 25.20 crore bought by Cameron Green (18, 10b, 1×4, 1×6, cleverly caught by a diving Shirvan Rutherford at deep cover), who was making his debut for KKR, and Rahane (caught at extra cover from the cross-seam, throwing a full delivery outside off stump), to check KKR from running away. About the game.KKR got off to an electric start with Rahane, who scored his 34th IPL fifty, and Allen, who hit an unbeaten century in the match against South Africa in the 2026 T20 World Cup semi-final earlier this month, as the opening pair added 69 off just 32 balls to set the stage for a huge total.Playing in his first competitive match in three months – his last appearance for Mumbai on December 16, when he smashed 72 off 41 balls to help Mumbai chase down 217 against Rajasthan in Pune in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 T20 – Rahane, who opted out of the Vijay Hazare Trophy and then the second half of the Ranji Trophy during the last domestic season, hardly looked rusty.Batting beautifully, the veteran batsman picked up the length early and bowled some brilliant shots, with Thakur being the better choice.There were few who questioned KKR’s decision to make Rahane captain again this season, but the 37-year-old, who finished last season as KKR’s top run-getter (390 runs in 13 matches at 35.45, with three fifties), seemed in a mood determined to prove his worth.Launching an all-out attack, Allen took advantage of the long strides of Afghanistan debutant Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar (0-57 in his four overs), taking two sixes and a four from him in the third over, which went to 17. Rahane then hit successive sixes off Hardik Pandya off the first two balls of the fourth, before Allen took three successive fours from the MI captain, who conceded 26 that time.