The Mumbai Indians completed their largest successful run chase in IPL history, reaching a target of 221 runs against the Kolkata Knight Riders with relative ease. With that, the five-time champions have kicked off IPL 2026 with a win.
The MI vs KKR game was Match 2 of TATA IPL 2026. The match was played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, and the home side won the toss and chose to bat first.
This match was going to have a historic result, no matter what. On one hand, Mumbai had not won its first game of the season since 2012. On the other hand, KKR has won only five out of the 19 matches they have played at the Wankhede.
Mumbai Indians Record Run Chase Against KKR
Immediately as the match started, MI’s decision to field first looked like the incorrect one. While there was no bounce on this pitch, there was also no swing or seam movement.
The Knight Riders’ opening duo of Ajinkya Rahane and Finn Allen dominated the powerplay. The two batters made 68 runs together in the first five overs. Then, in the sixth, Allen was dismissed for 37 off 17, dismissed by Shardul Thakur.
Cameron Green, worth Rs. 25 crore to Kolakta this season, came in at No. 3 and scored a few good-looking boundaries before becoming Thakur’s second victim of the night and being dismissed for 18 off 10 in the ninth.
In the 10th over, Rahane, whose place in this side was questioned by many before the start of the competition, proved his worth by scoring a half-century in 27 balls.
Around the middle of the innings mark, Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult were brought back to the attack. KKR was at 120/2 at the end of the 10th over. But the two veteran pacers bowled some fine yorkers and displayed T20 bowling at its finest.
By the end of the 14th over, Rahane had been dismissed (also by Thakur) for 67 off 40, and the run rate, which was at 12 a few overs ago, had fallen below 11.
Before the death overs, Angkrish Raghuvanshi picked up the pace. And by the time the death overs came around, the 21-year-old showed his worth to his franchise. He would go on to score and reach his half-century in 28 deliveries before getting out on the very next ball.
Much of it came after, in the 15th over, Angkrish was dropped by Rohit Sharma at the boundary, which then rolled on to the rope.
While Raghuvanshi took his side over the 200-run mark, Rinku Singh’s explosive 33 off 21 balls at the end took the team to a much more respectable score of 220/4 at the end of their allotted 20 overs.
Check Out: Mumbai Indians Record Run Chase Against KKR
If the Mumbai Indians were to win this, they would have to chase down the biggest target they had ever had in IPL history. But the way the opening duo of Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickelton came out of the woodworks, it seemed this otherwise mammoth chase would be quite easy for the home team.
While only 15 runs came off the first two overs, the third over, bowled by Vaibhav Arora, was smashed for 24 runs. This is where the carnage began. And by the time the MI innings reached the end of the powerplay, their score was 80/0, and Sharma completed his 50 in 23 deliveries.
The momentum didn’t halt even after the fielding restrictions were lifted. While Rickelton continued the form he brought from his successful stint in international cricket over the last year, Rohit Sharma looked like himself from 10 years ago—leaner, meaner, and the best timer of a cricket ball.
The Mumbai Indians reached 135 runs in 11 overs. Rohit did get out in the very next over, but his 78 off 38 had effectively been a match-winning inning.
Rickelton, along with the incoming Suryakumar Yadav, kept the onslaught going. Surya got out for 16 off eight while attempting to keep the run rate up.
Ryan Rickelton’s wicket in the 16th over was quite an unfortunate one. The South African got out after the bowler, Blessing Muzarabani, got in his running path unintentionally. The wicketkeeper/batter was dismissed for 81 off 43. At the end of that over, MI was at 193/3 and needed 28 off 24.
Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma kept up with the incredibly low required run rate at this point. In the 19th, Sunil Narine got his first wicket of the day and dismissed Tilak for 20 off 14. With four required in the last over, Naman Dhir hit a boundary to end the game with five balls to spare.
The Mumbai Indians won this MI vs KKR match by six wickets and five balls remaining. For his brilliant spell of 3/39 that broke the back of the Knight Riders’ batting attack, Shardul Thakur was named the Player of the Match.
Before this game, the highest target MI had chased was 219, which they did against the Chennai Super Kings at Delhi on May 1, 2021.
The Kolkata Knight Riders will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in their next match on April 2 at Eden Gardens. On the other hand, the MI will face the Delhi Capitals in their next game on April 4 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Check Out: Mumbai Indians Record Run Chase Against KKR
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