MI vs KKR Highlights, IPL 2026: MI end first game hoodoo, complete record chase of 221 after Rohit Sharma special

MI vs KKR IPL 2026 LIVE Score: In recent weeks, there have been plenty of questions asked of Hardik Pandya – is he the right man to lead this terrific MI team given the wealth of experience which surrounds him? There have been calls for his resignation, to step down and hand over to one of the two World Cup winning captains in his squad. So there is certainly scrutiny: can he do with MI what he did with GT as captain? This could prove to be a very fateful season – go trophyless, and something will probably have to give.

MI vs KKR IPL 2026 LIVE Score: 30 minutes until Hardik and Rahane will flip the coin. At the Wankhede, you don't really think twice – just bowl first, opt to chase in glorious conditions later on in the day. Shouldn't be any different today.

MI vs KKR IPL 2026 LIVE Score: When these two sides faced off early last season, it was a one-sided affair as KKR's batting never came to the party. Ashwani Kumar took 4 wickets as KKR were bundled out for 116, and from there it was an easy chase for MI, shepherded by Ryan Rickelton's half-century and wrapped up by a Suryakumar Yadav blitz late on.

MI vs KKR IPL 2026 LIVE Score: It's a little unclear what KKR's unit might look like in terms of its composition. There are about eight batters who would prefer to bat in the top 3, and that's without counting Sunil Narine, who opened their last season. One of Finn Allen and Tim Seifert probably has t miss out – but which of Rahane, Raghuvanshi, and Green slides down the order? Where does Rinku Singh comes in, and are the finishing stocks strong enough if Ramandeep Singh carries those hopes? There's a question mark regarding whether KKR fail to get the best out of some of their batters given competition in the places higher up the order.

MI vs KKR IPL 2026 LIVE Score: To make matters worse for Rohit, his Achilles heel is very exposed against KKR, who simply know that Sunil Narine has his number. In their meeting sover the course of IPL history, Narine has dismissed the former Indian captain NINE times – a silly number for a player of Rohit's quality. It's not that Rohit has gotten Narine away either – in 142 deliveries, Rohit has only scored 147 runs. A walking, talking weakness for the Hitman.

MI vs KKR IPL 2026 LIVE Score: Rohit Sharma has played against KKR a total of 35 times in his IPL career, six times for Deccan Chargers and 29 times for MI. The average is a healthy 38, thanks to six half-centuries and one century. But the strike-rate is something Rohit will be keen to improve. It sits at just 127, short of his career mark of 135 in the IPL. In the modern T20 game, that's simply not good enough – but the 2026 version of Rohit knows it's a hit out or get out type of environment that he has tried to create.

MI vs KKR IPL 2026 LIVE Score: Heading into the season opener, MI are without two key spinners in Will Jacks and Mitchell Santner, both of whom also make this a ridiculously deep batting lineup. Nevertheless, what we do know is Rohit Sharma will open at the top, with either de Kock or Rickelton. Tilak, SKY, Hardik, and Dhir make up the middle order. Bumrah and Boult share the new ball, with Ashwani Kumar probably providing some extra spin. Sherfane Rutherford could slot into the middle to provide some extra hitting power, while AM Ghazanfar should make his IPL bow to add to the spin component

MI vs KKR IPL 2026 LIVE Score: Going back to the start of the IPL, KKR have only managed to win at the Wankhede Stadium on two occasions – in 2012 and 2024, both occasiosn when they went on to lift the trophy at the end of the campaign. It's not something they do regularly – Wankhede is a bogey ground for the Knight Riders – but this particular stat against MI's own curse… interesting little thing to keep an eye on.

MI vs KKR IPL 2026 LIVE Score: You kind of have to rub your eyes when you see what MI have to offer up in their team. About five different players could be captains, but Hardik Pandya is the one who leads Rohit, SKY, even Mitchell Santner. It's strange that a team this good, with names like TIlak Varma and Will Jacks to boot, has been winless in terms of IPL trophies sicne 2020. MI are due a victory, and have all the talent in the world to do it. They are probably odds-on favourite for most fans and pundits – one look at the roster explains why. It's the kind of team which allows you to go into the auction without needing to target any sort of need.

MI vs KKR IPL 2026 LIVE Score: Despite all that work in the auction to land the fast bowlers they wanted, KKR were hammered by loss after loss – Mustafizur Rahman being barred, Harshit Rana out for the season, Akash Deep out for the season, and Matheesha Pathirana also working through his own injury and uncertain regarding when he will be able to join the KKR camp. It was a lot of injuries and slices of bad fortune in a small period of time, all of which has left KKR rustling around looking for replacements to try and stitch together whatever bowling attack they can.

MI vs KKR IPL 2026 LIVE Score: KKR felt the need to course-correct and go a different direction after a poor defence of their title last year, in which they also ended up losing key players like Andre Russell. KKR had a big purge, also releasing the heavily-priced Venkatesh Iyer, and used that bonus cash to splash money on names like Cam Green, Matheesha Pathirana, and more, rounding out the squad better and trying to target the areas of bother. With over 64 crore to spend in the auction, KKR had the chance to target whomever they wished.

MI vs KKR IPL 2026 LIVE Score: It's a little nugget which comes up every year – Mumbai Indians simply don't like winning their first game of the season. They have almsot forgotten how to. Not since 2012 have they managed to get going with a positive record – and to give them credit, it has hardly ever mattered, as they picked up five titles beginning that very year when this streak began. Whatever the MI iteration is, they don't hit the blocks running – so how important is this game to them, truly?

MI vs KKR IPL 2026 LIVE Score: After last night's RCB demolition against SRH, the IPL continues to roll on. Today, it's over to the Wankhede Stadium, where Mumbai Indians try to win their first game of an IPL season for a first time in 14 years. They are up against KKR, themselves looking for a lot of answers. Stay tuned.