Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya was pleased with the effort of his teammates after the five-time champions started their IPL 2026 campaign with a six-wicket win over the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium. MI reached the target of 221 runs in 19.1 overs, registering their first win in the campaign opener after 13 years.
“Obviously, it’s been a long wait. Every time we’ve come, we wanted to start the season on a high. The whole group is very glad we were able to do it,” Hardik Pandya said.
He opened up on chasing big totals in T20 cricket.
“Modern cricket, and we’ve seen what this wicket plays like. Credit to the bowlers, not letting KKR fly away to 240s or 250s. Those become tough targets, but 220 is always chaseable. Rohit and Rickelton were outstanding,” he added.
Hardik revealed the reason behind preferring Ryan Rickelton over Quinton de Kock.
“Ryan has done very well for us last year. And Quinny is a top man. He understood that we are backing the man and having continuity. Glad it worked. Whenever I see Ro play some shots, it opens everyone’s mouth—nothing short of excellent, nothing short of outstanding,” he explained.
The veteran all-rounder heaped massive praise on Shardul Thakur.
“I told him, enough hopping franchises. You have to be here for the rest of your career. The way he outsmarts batters, the way he bowls, is brilliant,” he concluded.
For Mumbai, Rohit Sharma and Rickelton scored fifties on a batting-friendly surface. The two added 148 runs for the first wicket, which put the Ajinkya Rahane-led team out of the contest. KKR bowlers looked ordinary in front of the opposite numbers and conceded boundaries at regular intervals.
Kolkata will have to think about their bowling before the next game in the 19th season of the league.
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