Angkrish Raghuvanshi started slow before accelerating•BCCI
Kolkata Knight Riders 220 for 4 (Rahane 67, Raghuvanshi 51, Thakur 3 for 39) vs Mumbai Indians
Ajinkya Rahane said at the toss that he has "never seen so much of grass at Wankhede". It was an important quip as Rahane has played cricket at the Wankhede Stadium all his career. But that extra grass didn't deter the Kolkata Knight Riders captain as he smashed 67 off 40 balls, starting his season in style. He got support from another Mumbai lad Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who scored 51 off 29 as KKR powered to 220 for 4 in their opening game of IPL 2026 against Mumbai Indians.
Despite the towering total, MI would feel they have done well, particularly after KKR had amassed 78 in the powerplay and reached 100 in 7.5 overs. Golden-arm Shardul Thakur, on MI debut, picked up three wickets while Jasprit Bumrah did Jasprit Bumrah things, conceding just 35 runs in his four overs
KKR gave Finn Allen a debut over Tim Seifert and the decision was vindicated with the opener smashing 37 off 17. After facing five dot balls against Hardik, Allen caught hold of another debutant AM Ghazanfar, taking him for two sixes and a four. Rahane then took on Hardik Pandya, smashing him for back-to-back sixes before Allen went 4, 4, 4 taking 26 runs off Hardik's second over.
All eyes on Raghuvanshi and Rinku
After starting slowly, 17 off 14 at one stage, Angkrish Raghuvanshi has upped his scoring and alongside Rinku Singh, has brought KKR back on track. Rinku first goes after Ghazanfar, carving him through backward point before Raghuvanshi closes the 15th over with a four and six. Rinku then backs away against Boult and then the two collect 14 off Thakur's final over. After four quality overs, KKR collected 49 off the next four overs.
51Runs conceded by Ghazanfar on IPL debut
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Rahane's strike rate difference
200Rahane's strike rate in the powerplay, but that went down to 140.9 post powerplay, which is a fairly major gulf
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Thakur all over KKR
He is playing his first game for MI but this has been a top-notch effort already from Shardul Thakur. And now he removes the dangerman Rahane, who falls for 67 off 40 balls. It was a cross-seam delivery from Thakur that did Rahane in. He floats one on the fuller side outside off, Rahane looks to clear the infield over covers. But the ball sticks into the surface and Rahane mistimes it straight up with Hardik completing a simple catch at extra cover.
It's been a couple of decent overs from MI prior to the wicket over, with Jasprit Bumrah conceding just five in his second over. He kept hitting those blockholes and didn't allow either batter to get under the ball. Rahane had earlier struck Ghazanfar for a six over midwicket but since then, MI pulled things back. Boult was brought back into the attack and conceded just eight.
KKR have managed just 30 runs between overs 10.1 to 14. But they are still going at over ten an over.
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Shardul Thakur - aka Mr golden arm
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A 27-ball fifty for Rahane
There were some question marks on Ajinkya Rahane coming into this season. Is he the right choice to lead? Is he good enough as an opening batter? Can he keep his strike rates to the level that's required nowadays?
He seems to have answered all these questions in style. He's not played international cricket for a while, so it sometimes feels that Rahane isn't in touch but he is actually in pretty decent form. Rahane was the highest run-scorer for Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, scoring 391 runs in 10 innings at 48.87 and a strike rate of 161.57.
And in the season opener, Rahane has once again shown that he is as good as anyone. Gets to his fifty in 27 balls. But he will need to keep an eye out on his post powerplay strike-rate, particularly now that Cameron Green has fallen.
In IPL 2025, Rahane had a strike rate of 187.40 in the first six overs and 110.94 post that. In this game, Rahane struck at 200.00 but has slowed down a touch after that. KKR will need him to bat long and deep.
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Round 1 to KKR
Despite the wicket, Rahane looks unstoppable. He takes on Thakur twice, once caressing a drive on the up through covers before smashing a length ball outside off straight over the bowler's head. KKR have amassed 78 in the powerplay and it's fair to say the first bout goes to the visiting team, even though they have lost Allen.
78This is KKR's highest powerplay score ever against Mumbai Indians in the IPL
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Golden arm Shardul Thakur strikes
MI debutant Shardul Thakur has taken just two balls to strike in his home ground as he removes the dangerous Finn Allen. He's bowled so much at this venue and brings his experience into play. Starts his over with a slower short of a length ball that is pulled meekly by Rahane before another slower length ball does Allen in. Was bowled at only 117kph outside off and Allen shovels this only as far as long-on. This has been a fiery start from KKR but this is a timely blow and the crowd erupts. This was after Jasprit Bumrah's opening over was also taken for 11 runs.
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Carnage at the Wankhede
The question coming in was how will Finn Allen do at the IPL? He has been part of RCB before but never played in the IPL. But he has been in stellar form ahead of IPL 2025. He scored 298 runs in nine innings in the T20 World Cup at 49.66 and striking at 200.00. He has started his IPL in solid form, too. After five dot balls against Hardik, he goes after MI debutant AM Ghazanfar. The spinner goes short and is pumped to the deep square fence. The next ball is spanked for an 86m six over wide long-on. Allen then finishes the Ghazanfar over by pulling him over deep midwicket.
He is not done yet. Rahane first goes after Hardik, smashing him for back-to-back sixes. This is quite wayward bowling from Hardik, who goes down leg and is punished twice over. Allen then gets on strike and goes 4, 4, 4 once past deep square, once straight down the track and then executing the scoop expertly past short fine leg. A monster 26-run over against Hardik as KKR race past fifty in 3.5 overs, their fastest against MI in the IPL.
KKR have scored 43 runs in overs three and four.
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No first over heroics from Boult
Two wides, a six and a brace from the first Boult over. He found some swing but was a little wayward, once down leg and once well outside off. In the middle of that, Rahane lifted Boult over cow corner for a six. Pandya took the new ball from the other end and started really well, conceding just one four off the inside-edge and five dots against Finn Allen. The surface definitely feels a little quicker than normal with the hard lengths likely to come into play this evening.
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Can first over Boult strike again?
Right, out walk the two KKR batters, Ajinkya Rahane and Finn Allen. Trent Boult has taken 32 wickets in the first over in the IPL. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is second with 27, followed by Chahar and Praveen Kumar with 15 each. He is with the new ball again. Can first-over Boult strike one more time? The Wankhede is behind him. Let's go!
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How will the pitch play at Wankhede?
Pretty picture. We are smack bang in the middle, 64m on either side and 75m straight. What about the 22 yards? Michael Clarke says, "I think it is an absolute beauty. There is a little bit of grass on it, which is surprising. Last time I was here, it was drier than this. But that will hold the conditions together beautifully. You are going to get that extra bounce with the new ball and the change of pace will be important.
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Mumbai win the toss and bowl
Toss: Mumbai Indians choose to bowl vs Kolkata Knight Riders
Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya won the toss and had no hesitation in electing to bowl in their IPL 2026 opener against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium.
MI handed a debut cap to Afghanistan mystery spinner AM Ghazanfar, alongside Shardul Thakur and Sherfane Rutherford, who are also playing their first games for the franchise. MI have gone with Ryan Rickelton over the experienced Quinton de Kock in their starting XI. Rickelton had a solid IPL 2025 for MI, finishing with 388 runs in 14 innings and MI have kept their faith in him. The fourth overseas player in the MI unit is Trent Boult.
Jasprit Bumrah will lead the fast bowling unit and has Shardul and Boult with him. Mayank Markande and Ghazanfar are the two spinners. Suryakumar Yadav has not been named in the bowling first XI and is likely come in as the Impact Player.
"Looks like a good track, looks a bit greener than it is used to, so let's see," Hardik said at the toss. "This is our fortress, this is our ground and we hope we can entertain the crowd. We started a couple of weeks earlier and the boys have got enough time to prepare."
KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane also said that he has "never seen so much of grass at Wankhede". KKR are going with three overseas debutants in Finn Allen, who has been selected over Tim Seifert and will open the batting, fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani and allrounder Cameron Green. The veteran Sunil Narine is the fourth overseas pick. Angkrish Raghuvanshi will take the wicketkeeping gloves for the first time in the IPL. Kartik Tyagi could come in as the Impact Player.
MI have won 24 of their 35 games against KKR. Their record at the Wankhede Stadium is even better, with MI having a 10-2 lead, although since 2024, KKR have the 2-1 head-to-head lead.
Playing XIs
Mumbai Indians: 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Ryan Rickelton* (wk), 3 Tilak Varma, 4 Hardik Pandya (capt), 5 Sherfane Rutherford*, 6 Naman Dhir, 7 Shardul Thakur, 8 Mayank Markande, 9 AM Ghazanfar*, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Trent Boult*
Impact Subs: Suryakumar Yadav, Corbin Bosch, Robin Minz, Raj Bawa, Ashwani Kumar
Kolkata Knight Riders: 1 Finn Allen*, 2 Ajinkya Rahane (capt), 3 Cameron Green*, 4 Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), 5 Rinku Singh, 6 Ramandeep Singh, 7 Anukul Roy, 8 Sunil Narine*, 9 Vaibhav Arora, 10 Varun Chakravarthy, 11 Blessing Muzarabani*
Impact subs: Manish Pandey, Tejasvi Singh, Kartik Tyagi, Saurabh Dubey, Rovman Powell
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Caps for Ghazanfar, Rutherford and Shardul
Three players are in line for an MI debut against KKR, with Afghanistan mystery spinner AM Ghazanfar, Sherfane Rutherford and Shardul Thakur handed their caps.
On the other side, here's Sruthi Ravindranath on Cameron Green, who is set to make his KKR debut: "Will all eyes be on Cameron Green, the most expensive overseas buy ever at an IPL auction? Actually, I don't think so. Maybe it's good he’s starting against MI, a team that has several Indian superstars, including four who were part of the T20 World Cup recently, so the attention may not be on him completely. Green also has a century at this stadium in the IPL. He’s been bowling on the practice pitches but he’s not marked his run-up so far, so it remains to be seen if he will bowl today."
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All eyes on Varun Chakravarthy
Varun Chakravarthy entered the 2026 T20 World Cup as the top-ranked T20I bowler. He bowled like one in the first round, taking nine wickets in four games at an economy rate of 5.16. But in the next five matches, his performance nose-dived: five wickets at an economy rate of 11.84. He had a short break after the World Cup, and sometimes that's all you need to fine-tune your processes and get back to your best.
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What's happening at Wankhede?
Sruthi Ravindranath is settled in nice and early at the Wankhede and has her eyes peeled on the warm-ups from both teams. Jasprit Bumrah is the first one to mark his run-up, so that is a good sign if you are an MI supporter. Ryan Rickelton is doing wicketkeeping drills but Quinton de Kock is waiting with the gloves too. For KKR, Raghuvanshi is on wicketkeeping drills, just like the last couple of days at training.
A loud roar at the Wankhede as Rohit Sharma walks out to have a net. Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya and Mahela Jayawardene are next to the pitch, discussing the pitch. There is a New Zealand reunion also happening in the middle with Tim Seifert, Trent Boult and Rachin Ravindra exchanging smiles and hugs.
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Rohit Sharma vs KKR
From 2016 to 2023, Rohit Sharma's best strike rate in an IPL season was 133.02. But in the last two seasons, he has improved it significantly, going at 150.00 in 2024 and 149.28 in 2025. The other thing is his stellar record against KKR. He's played against 15 teams as he enters his 19th season of the IPL, and he's scored the most runs against KKR: 1083 in 35 innings at 38.67. His highest score of 109* also came against KKR back in 2012. But he will want to be wary of Sunil Narine, who has dismissed the former MI captain ten times in 26 T20 innings. Rohit's strike rate against Narine also reads just 106.77.
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KKR's conundrum
KKR had entered the IPL 2026 auction with the biggest purse, INR 64.30 crore. Fast-forward to the start of the tournament, and it's difficult to say what their best XII looks like. Do they open with Tim Seifert or Finn Allen? What's the ideal slot for Ajinkya Rahane? Should Cameron Green bat in the middle order or fill Andre Russell's role of the finisher? That's one part of the problem. The other part is the injury-laced fast-bowling department. KKR had rebuilt their fast bowling unit, adding Mustafizur Rahman, Matheesha Pathirana and Akash Deep but come the first game, none of them is available. Harshit Rana has also been ruled out because of his knee injury. The replacements don't look threatening enough.
Can KKR start their IPL 2026 with a win?
145 votesYes, they have a solid batting unit
No, the fast bowling combination is too weak
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It's MI vs KKR time!
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Who should MI give the new ball to?
MI haven't won their season opener since 2012. KKR have won only two of their 12 games against MI at the Wankhede: one in 2012 and another in 2024. One of these two teams will break the jinx. Will it be Mumbai Indians, who are without Will Jacks and Mitchell Santner for this game, but still look like a well-oiled unit, or will it be Kolkata Knight Riders who are struggling with injuries to their pacers. It's expected to be a mouthwatering clash at Wankhede Stadium. So strap in and enjoy the ride.
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Mumbai Indians' long wait for #6
Mumbai Indians have a record five titles - matched only by CSK - but their wait for a title has never been longer since the one for their first title. In fact, they haven't made the final since their last triumph in 2020. So is 2026 the year they end the drought?
Will MI end their title drought in 2026?
310 votesYes
No
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The pressure of being Cam Green
The last time Cam Green was at the Wankhede for a T20, he scored a century. That was for Mumbai Indians. Today he'll line up against them.
A lot has changed since then for Green, and now he starts a season with the pressure of an INR 25.20 crore price tag looming over him. And he comes into the tournament with added pressure of lean form.
The obvious question will be asked of course: can he justify the price tag? His returns in his previous two IPL seasons have been good, and KKR will hope he can keep up that trend.
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MI fans, don't fret. Bumrah's fit
Jasprit Bumrah has joined the Mumbai Indians (MI) squad and is available for their opening match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Wankhede on Sunday, according to head coach Mahela Jayawardene. He had missed MI's training session on Friday but was present on Saturday, the eve of the game against KKR.
Bumrah came on to bowl at the nets over an hour into MI's training session. He warmed up by bowling at the stumps without a run-up, then marked his run-up and bowled at full-tilt for about five minutes. He was also seen chatting with bowling coach Lasith Malinga between each delivery.
Read the full story here.
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Who opens for KKR?
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KKR should open with Allen and Narine - Rayudu
Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane... when it comes to the top of the batting order, KKR have a problem of plenty. Allen and Seifert lit up the recent T20 World Cup opening for New Zealand. Sunil Narine, we know by now, is at his best with the bat when he opens the innings. Ajinkya Rahane too is best utilised when he starts with the fielding restrictions in place. So, who walks out to open for them, who tries to adapt to a different role, and if they need to, who among Allen and Seifert do KKR leave out?
Who should open for KKR?
8.6K votesFinn Allen and Ajinkya Rahane
Tim Seifert and Ajinkya Rahane
Finn Allen and Tim Seifert
Someone else
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Time for Game 2!
IPL 2026 is underway, and today the action moves to the Wankhede. It's five-time champions Mumbai Indians taking on a team they like to beat, and a team struggling with injuries and availability issues - Kolkata Knight Riders. Of course, KKR will feel there is no better time to face Mumbai Indians than the first game of the season - MI haven't won their season opener since 2012! How will it go today? Stay tuned with us to find out!
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