Who won yesterday’s IPL match between MI and KKR? IPL result and more

2 hours ago 14

After Virat Kohli and his men kicked off the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 in an easy fashion, Rohit Sharma’s Mumbai Indians (MI) made light work of chasing 221 against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). In a run-fest that saw 434 runs getting scored, MI broke their opening game curse to go second on the IPL 2026 points table.

Against a huge total at the Wankhede, MI made it look far easier than it should’ve been. They got there in 19.1 overs, won by six wickets and ended a ridiculous streak of 5,107 days without winning their first game of an IPL season.

Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton blew KKR

This game was decided in the first 10 overs of the chase. Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickelton came out with one clear idea, don’t let the asking rate climb. By the end of the powerplay, MI were already 80/0, bettering KKR’s 78/1.

Rohit looked like he had something to prove. He raced to a 23-ball fifty, his fastest in IPL history, and did it with typical ease. Pulls, lofted drives, that effortless pickup over midwicket, all of it was there. He ended with 78 off 38. Rickelton wasn’t playing second fiddle either. His 81 off 43 kept the pressure firmly on KKR. Together, they added 148 runs, MI’s highest-ever partnership at the Wankhede and second-highest opening stand for the franchise.

At that point, the chase was done in everything but name. Suryakumar Yadav (16 off 8), Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya just walked it home.

Where KKR lost it despite 220

KKR will look at that 220/4 and wonder how it wasn’t enough. They actually started brilliantly. Ajinkya Rahane (67 off 40) and Angkrish Raghuvanshi (51 off 29) did the heavy lifting, while Finn Allen’s 37 off 17 gave them a proper push in the powerplay. At one stage, they were flying at nearly 12 an over. The problem came in the middle overs, with Rahane himself slowing down.

Between overs 12 to 14, they managed just 19 runs. That phase killed their momentum. Jasprit Bumrah’s tight spell started the squeeze, and Shardul Thakur removed Rahane right after. That slowdown probably cost them 15-20 runs, which, in hindsight, was the difference.

Even with the ball, nothing clicked. Six bowlers used, none in control. Cameron Green didn’t bowl at all. Varun Chakravarthy went for runs. Anukul Roy was tried. Nothing stuck. And once MI got that start, there was no coming back.

KKR’s heading home to Eden Gardens for three games, starting with SRH on Thursday (April 2). Meanwhile, MI’s off to Delhi to take on DC in an afternoon match on Saturday (April 4).