Rohit makes fiery start to IPL 2026 as MI edge KKR; next up: Sanju Samson vs RR

A day after Virat Kohli’s match-winning knock for champions RCB, his fellow-OG, Rohit Sharma, scored a half-century to inspire the Mumbai Indians to a six-wicket win over the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL 2026 at the Wankhede on Sunday.

Rohit smashed a 38-ball 78 as he forged a 148-run opening wicket partnership with Ryan Rickelton (81 off 43). But Mumbai needed to be sharp till the end to get past the KKR total of 220/4.

Tilak Varma (20) was removed by Sunil Narine in the 19th over, leaving skipper Hardik Pandya (18 not out) to bring calmness into the chase, winning with five balls to spare.

Earlier, KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane (67) and Angkrish Raghuvanshi (51) powered the visitors to a par score. Shardul Thakur (3/39) provided Mumbai with crucial breakthroughs, while seasoned campaigners, Trent Boult (0/38) and Jasprit Bumrah (0/35) went wicketless.

On Monday, the Rajasthan Royals will take on the Chennai Super Kings in Guwahati. The match will be special for Sanju Samson, who will make his CSK debut against a team he captained until last season.

Rajasthan's teenage batting sensation, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, would be another star expected to make an explosive start. Ravindra Jadeja is another star who will be in the spotlight as he is set to face CSK for the first time since switching sides ahead of the season.

Malayali left-arm spinner Vignesh Puthur, who had a breakthrough campaign with Mumbai last season, is with RR this time. However, he might have to wait for his Royals debut.

Brief scores: KKR 220/4 in 20 overs (Rahane 67, Raghuvanshi 51, Finn Allen 37, Rinku Singh 33 not out, Shardul Thakur 3/39) lost to MI 224/4 in 19.1 overs (Rickelton 81, Rohit 78)