Rohit Sharma scored 78 runs in 38 balls to guide the Mumbai Indians to a record victory against the Kolkata Knight Riders. MI chased the target of 221 runs with 6 wickets in hand to win their first game of the season.Earlier, KKR put up a big total of 220 runs at the end of 20 overs, largely thanks to innings from Ajinkya Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi. KKR skipper Rahane scored 67 runs in 40 balls while Raghuvanshi scored 51 runs off 29 balls. During the innings break, KKR looked in a strong position in the match. However, the Mumbai Indians started strong with Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickleton to take the game away from the KKR.Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickleton stitched a partnership of 148 runs in under 12 overs to give MI a fast start. The duo dominated from the off, attacking the KKR bowlers in the powerplay. KKR's spinners Chakravarthy and Narine failed to have an impact on the game as MI openers took the game away from the visitors. Rohit eventually departed after scoring 78 runs after he skied a full toss. Anukul Roy took a brilliant catch diving full strength to send the former Indian skipper back to the pavilion. Suyakumar Yadav scored 16 runs in 8 balls to keep KKR under pressure.Ryan Rickleton was the star of the show for MI, scoring 81 runs in 43 balls to help the Mumbai Indians win by 6 wickets. The South African star was run out later in the innings after a direct hit from Anukul Toy. Mumbai Indians win their opening match for the first time since 2012 Mumbai Indians registered a victory in their first match of the season for the first time since 2012. MI had not won their opening match of the campaign in the last 13 attempts.Mumbai Indian's win put them joint top of the table with RCB, who won their match against SRH on Saturday. MI start as the strong favourites to win a record sixth IPL title, and their first since 2020. MI's next match will be against the Delhi Capitals on April 4.
29 March,2026 11:12 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentIn match no 2 of IPL, the Mumbai Indians have won the toss against the Kolkata Knight Riders and elected to bowl first. The match will be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.Hardik Pandya confirmed that Jasprit Bumrah is back in the team. Shardul Thakur, Allah Ghazanfar and Sherfane Rutherford are set to make their debut for the hosts. Mitch Santner and Will Jacks are yet to join the MI camp.Hardik Pandya said,"We are going to bowl. Looks like a good track, it appears greener than it used to. Let's see how it plays. This is our fortress, the crowd is behind us and we're looking to play a good game. We started a couple of weeks earlier, have plenty of experience and a mix of youth. Rohit, Surya, Mitchell Santner - so there's no shortage of captains; I'm just excited to go out there and perform. We're going with 6 bowlers and 5 batters."Ajinkya Rahane confirmed KKR's four overseas players for the match. Finn Allen, Green, Narine, and Blessing Muzarabani are in the team for the big match against the 5-time champions. The KKR skipper said that they were looking to bowl first too. Rahane said,"We were looking to bowl, never seen this amount of grass at Wankhede. Preparations have been good, couple of camps in Kolkata and in Mumbai as well. Know that MI is a champion team and we're looking forward to be playing against them. Just stay at the moment and don't look at the past. A couple of injuries - we're going with 6 batters and 5 bowlers. Four overseas players - Cameron Green, Finn Allen, Sunil Narine and Blessing Muzarabani."Historically, this has been one of the most one-sided rivalries in IPL history, though KKR has closed the gap in recent years. In 34 matches, the Mumbai Indians have won 23 matches, while the KKR have won 11 games. At the Wankhede Stadium, MI holds a stranglehold, having won 10 out of the 11 encounters. However, the Mumbai Indians have not won the first game of the season since 2013. Confirmed Team News: Mumbai Indians XI: Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickleton, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Sherfane Rutherford, Naman Dhir, Shardul Thakur, Mayank Markande, Allah Ghazanfar, Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah KKR XI: Finn Allen, Ajinkya Rahane, Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Vaibhav Arora and Blessing Muzarabani
29 March,2026 07:14 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentWhile the rest of the nation was swept up in the high-stakes frenzy of the IPL season, a small cricket ground in Mumbai witnessed a far more profound victory. At the Air India Colony Ground, a group of specially abled children from the Akshay Charitable Trust lived out their dreams, facing off against popular television stars in a friendly match that redefined the meaning of "star power."Every boundary was met with a roar of applause, and every wicket was celebrated with infectious joy. For these children, the match was a rare, vibrant escape from the gruelling physical and systemic challenges they face daily. By the time the final ball was bowled, the kids had secured a stunning victory, proving that "disability" is a label, not a limit.Speaking about the kids' talents, their sports coach, Hardik More, said that despite their limitations, these kids often shine in various sports."We make sure these kids enjoy playing sports. Many of the kids play badminton, lawn tennis, football and cricket. Seeing their passion towards the game gives us the motivation to work harder for them. Sports are a great leveller, and despite their physical and mental limitations, these kids inspire us to get better." Hardik More said. While the players were showing off their skill on the pitch, their teachers beamed with pride as they watched on from the sideline. Archana More, who has been working with these disabled kids for over four years, couldn't hide her delight. She was happy to see her students have the opportunity to live normal lives after all the challenges they encounter on a day-to-day basis."I'm delighted to see our students play on the pitch, surrrounded with TV stars. Most of these students come from a very difficult background, but we try to give them as much exposure as possible. To see them run between wickets and celebrate under these lights... it reminds us that while their lives are incredibly difficult, their spirits are unbreakable," she said.While the life of these kids is limited to just going through day-to-day routines, their teachers and coaches try to provide them with as much normality as possible. The kids are often invited to sing at birthday parties and show off their skills on musical instruments like the guitar, piano and drums. 'They are people... just like us' The founder of Akshay Charitable Trust, Akshay Ambekar, urged people to treat the disabled kids normally, like the rest of us. He further added that every specially abled kid has a talent, but it's up to the parents of that child to find it and encourage the child to follow it.As the TV stars lined up to give the children a guard of honour, the scorecards became irrelevant. The real victory lay in the message sent to the thousands watching: a disability may change how a child plays the game, but it never changes their right to win.The event, organised by S4UA, was a resounding success. As the TV stars lined up to give the children a guard of honour, the final scorecard became irrelevant. The true triumph was the message sent to everyone watching: a disability may change how a child plays the game, but it can never take away their right to win.
29 March,2026 06:36 PM IST | Mumbai | Atharva UpasaniIn a high-scoring season opener at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday, defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by six wickets to start their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 campaign. Rajat Patidar, the captain of the RCB, dedicated the win to the 11 supporters who perished in a stampede last year."This win, we dedicate to the 11 fans we lost last year," Patidar stated in a video that RCB shared on Instagram.RCB chased down 202 runs in just over 15 overs to start the campaign with a win. The run chase was anchored by Virat Kohli, who scored a half-century to guide the hosts to a victory.RCB batting coach and mentor Dinesh Karthik reflected on the emotional start to the match, saying, "I must say it was pretty emotional at the start when we all stood, and the wind dropped silent. It was nice that we honoured them. And then the way that they always cheer, second to none. There is so much of passion when it comes to RCB. Just when the bus comes into the ground, the number of people who are just watching you is a motivation in itself. And then in the ground, the energy. And we are definitely one of the loudest, most cheerful and happiest stadiums to be in. So, it's a bit full house, and I'm very happy we put up a very good performance." Patidar credited Kohli and Padikkal for laying the foundation of the chase RCB captain Patidar credited Kohli and Padikkal for setting up RCB's run chase. The duo scored in double quick time to set up the chase for the defending champions."The way Devdutt and Virat started, I think that was a good base for us, and after that, it wasn't as if we wanted to finish early, and the game kept on going, and we kept on scoring runs. Then we decided that we would chase as early as possible. Not easy to chase 200, the way the boys batted was quite phenomenal, they bowled nicely as well," Patidar said.RCB head coach Andy Flower lauded the team's performance, stating, "That was an amazing win. It is, I hear, the fastest chase of 200 in IPL history. So, in our first game in 2026, that's a great effort. Well done." (With ANI Input)
29 March,2026 04:19 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentFormer Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin praised the energy that Indian and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) star Virat Kohli provides to his batting. Ashwin described Kohli's strategy as "bizarre at this age" in a positive way, praising his energy and commitment at the crease.Ashwin highlighted Kohli's eagerness to take quick singles and attack even during comfortable partnerships, noting his ability to "walk the talk" and set an example of playing the game hard and the right way."I find him quite bizarre at this age. I tell him this during our chats now and then. He was batting on 40-odd, there was a partnership going on, and RCB were coasting. He ran through for the first single, stopped there, and the other batter hadn't even reached halfway, but he was already looking for a second. That was a 57-metre boundary on the leg side, and it shows the enthusiasm he still brings to the game. He walks the talk. It's almost like he's putting on a show for people to see how the game should be played, play it hard and play it the way it's meant to be played. That stood out to me with respect to what Virat did. And if this is the way RCB are going to bat, Virat just needs to bat the full 20 overs," Ashwin said on JioHotstar.Playing his first T20 since the IPL 2025 final, Kohli starred with the bat and guided RCB to their first win of the season. RCB chase 202 to win the IPL 2026 opener Phil Salt hit two boundaries in the first over to start RCB's chase, but he was dismissed for eight runs in the very next over. Kohli scored 69 off 38 balls, with five fours and five sixes in his innings, guiding RCB to a win on the season opener. Kohli looked in fine touch from the first ball. The former Indian became the first batter in IPL history to score more than 4,000 runs in chases.Kohli also surpassed former Pakistan batter Shoaib Malik to become the sixth-highest run-getter in T20 cricket. Malik has made 13571 runs in T20 557 matches and 515 innings. The former cricketer had an average of 35.99, including 83 half-centuries in the shortest format. (With ANI Input)
29 March,2026 03:51 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentVirat Kohli feels that taking regular breaks from the game has kept him mentally sharp and prevented burnout. The star batter scored his 28th IPL fifty as RCB started their season with a win against the Sunrisers Hyderabad.In the IPL season opener on Saturday, Royal Challengers Bengaluru easily defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad by six wickets thanks to Kohli's 38-ball 69, which included five sixes and as many fours.Kohli showed no signs of rust in his first Twenty20 match since the IPL final of the previous season, demonstrating how taking regular breaks has allowed him to maintain peak performance despite a demanding international schedule over the years. Addressing concerns about being underprepared after a 10-month gap from the format, Kohli said the bigger challenge for him had always been avoiding burnout."Well, you know, the kind of scheduling that we've had over the last 15 years and the amount of cricket I've played, for me there was always a risk of getting burnt out rather than being undercooked. So these breaks helped me immensely. I stay fresh, I stay excited." Virat Kohli said.The 37-year-old stressed that he never returns to competitive cricket unless he is more than 100 per cent."Whenever I come back to play, it's 120%. I'm not coming back, you know, underprepared. In fact, the extra rest helps me to mentally freshen up. As long as you're physically fit and you're excited mentally, all those things come together nicely and then you're able to, you know, contribute for the team's cause and that's what you want to do as a player. You don't want to hold on to a spot." Kohli said. Recent white ball form helped me maintain rhythm: Kohli Reflecting on his return to T20 cricket, Kohli said recent white-ball outings had helped him retain rhythm despite a gap in the shortest format."It was good to get back out there. You mentioned T20 cricket. The last game I played was the final last year but I think the way I batted in the one-day series quite recently really helped me to stay in that same kind of momentum," he said. RCB are aiming to be the third team in IPL history to successfully defend their title after CSK and MI.(With PTI Input)
29 March,2026 01:57 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentIndia women’s cricket all-rounder Sneh Rana recently ditched the hustle and bustle of city life to enjoy the serenity of the mountains in Uttarakhand. Rana, 32, a Dehradun resident, Instagrammed a series of pictures on Saturday from her getaway to a nearby hillstation. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sneh Rana♥️ (@sneh_rana94) In one of the photos, she is seen standing on the ledge of a hill with giant conifers behind her. In another picture, she’s seen walking across some snow-clad woods. She captioned the post: “The urge to escape cities/societies and be surrounded by mountains all day. Every day.” Rana was a key member of the Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian side that won the ODI World Cup last year.
29 March,2026 09:13 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentA star-studded Mumbai Indians (MI) will be aiming to overcome their five-year IPL trophy drought when they begin their IPL-19 campaign against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on home turf, at the Wankhede Stadium this evening. And MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene reckoned that the presence of India’s two T20 World Cup-winning captains — Rohit Sharma (2024) and Suryakumar Yadav (2026) — in the team will be a big plus for skipper Hardik Pandya. The Pandya-led five-time champions, who won their last IPL title in 2020, appear extremely strong on paper with bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah ready to steam in for this fixture. Mahela Jayawardene Experience counts “We are very proud of the core group that we’ve built over many years. And the contribution that Ro [Rohit] brings in, what Surya brings in and every other cricketer brings in, it’s massive and Hardik is enjoying that. He’s [Pandya] quite open to getting those ideas and getting that help out there. Especially with him being an all-rounder, because he’s been bowling and doing stuff as well. So, he needs that help on the field. Having them [Rohit and Suryakumar] on the field, it’s a massive, massive plus. Not just on the field, but off the field as well,” Jayawardene said at the pre-match press conference on Saturday.Interestingly, MI, who finished third in IPL-18 after losing to runners-up Shreyas Iyer’s Punjab Kings in Qualifier Two, have something to worry about. Since their first IPL title in 2013, they are yet to win their opening match. Jayawardene is well aware of this. “I have spoken to the boys about the intensity they should have for that first game. I think that’s all we can control. Hopefully we can break that [jinx],” said Jayawardene. KKR skipper Ajinkya Rahane Meanwhile, KKR assistant coach Shane Watson, who was adjudged Player of the Tournament when he helped Rajasthan Royals win the inaugural IPL in 2008, admitted that it’s tough to beat MI at Wankhede. Hard to beat MI: Watson “Let’s hope that the shocking record which MI have in the first game continues. Obviously, we’re playing here at Wankhede Stadium, it’s a fortress, MI are very hard to beat here,” Watson said. Mumbai veteran Ajinkya Rahane, leading KKR though, will be a huge plus for the visitors as he knows the Wankhede conditions better than home team skipper Pandya. 29No. of matches Hardik Pandya has led MI in — 13 wins and 16 losses 1083No. of runs scored by Rohit Sharma in 35 matches against KKR — the most by any player against them 10-2MI’s win-loss record against KKR at the Wankhede Stadium 5-10MI pacer Jasprit Bumrah’s career-best T20 figures, achieved against KKR at the DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai, in 2022
29 March,2026 08:56 AM IST | Mumbai | Subodh MayureIn the IPL 2026 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) emerged victorious by six wickets at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. Having put to chase a target of 202 runs, RCB posted a total of 203 runs for the loss of four wickets in 15.4 overs. Opening the innings, Phil Salt was dismissed for eight runs in seven balls, which also included two boundaries. Fellow opening batsman Virat Kohli struck an unbeaten 69 runs off just 38 deliveries, laced with five boundaries and the same number of maximums. Impact Player Devdutt Padikkal garnered 61 runs in just 26 balls, with the help of seven boundaries and four maximums. Skipper Rajat Patidar smashed 31 runs after facing 12 balls. His knock included two boundaries and three maximums. Wicketkeeper-batsman Jitesh Sharma returned to the pavilion on the first ball duck. Tim David stayed unbeaten along with Kohli. Facing 10 balls, David scored 16 runs by smashing a boundary and a maximum. SRH's Impact Player David Payne claimed two wickets by conceding 35 runs in three overs. Jaydev Unadkat and Harsh Dubey also chipped in with one wicket each. Nitish Kumar Reddy, Eshan Malinga, and Harshal Patel went wicketless in the IPL 2026 match against RCB. Earlier, having put to bat first, Sunrisers Hyderabad's (SRH) opening batsman Travis Head scored 11 runs in nine balls, including two boundaries. Fellow explosive opening batsman Abhishek Sharma departed on seven runs in eight balls, including a maximum. Nitish Kumar Reddy returned to the pavilion after scoring one run in six balls. Facing 22 balls, Heinrich Klaasen accumulated 31 runs. He also smashed two boundaries and a maximum. Skipper Ishan Kishan played a knock of 80 runs off 38 deliveries, which was laced with eight boundaries and five maximums. Salil Arora scored nine runs in six balls, including a maximum. Harsh Dubey and Harshal Patel departed on three and zero runs, respectively. Facing three balls, Dubey scored three runs, whereas Patel faced two balls. Aniket Verma gave the finishing touches to the team's innings. Having played just 18 balls, he garnered 43 runs with the help of three boundaries and four maximums. With this, SRH posted a total of 201 runs for the loss of nine wickets in 20 overs. Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Jacob Duffy returned with the figures of three wickets for 22 runs in four overs. Romario Shepherd also bagged three wickets by conceding 54 runs in his spell of four overs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, and Suyash Sharma also registered one wicket each to their names. Krunal Pandya went wicketless in the IPL 2026 match against SRH.
28 March,2026 11:24 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentThe much-anticipated IPL 2026 has begun. Mumbai Indians (MI) are all set to kick off their campaign by playing a clash against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on March 29 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Ahead of the match, the "Paltan" will look to break the jinx of losing the season's opening match. The "Men in Blue and Gold" have been struggling to secure a win in their first match of the tournament since 2012. Ahead of the match against KKR, MI's head coach Mahela Jayawardene spoke about the jinx. He feels that there is no other way to break the "hoodoo" than playing a good game of cricket. "It is the elephant in the room but there is no way for us to prepare differently. If you look at the season that I was involved in, we had close matches, we lost. I think I have spoken to the boys about the intensity being there for that first game. I think that is all we can control," he told reporters at the Wankhede Stadium. "That is what I have asked from the guys to go out and play a good game of cricket at that high intensity. Other than that, I don't see how else we could prepare because we pretty much prepare for each and every game the same way. Hopefully, I can break that hoodoo," added Jayawardene. IPL 2026, Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians: Full Squads Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane (C), Manish Pandey, Sunil Narine, Rahul Tripathi, Tim Seifert (WK), Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Sarthak Ranjan, Finn Allen (WK), Rachin Ravindra, Cameron Green, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kartik Tyagi, Blessing Muzarabani, Akash Deep, Prashant Solanki, Matheesha Pathirana, Vaibhav Arora, Umran Malik, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Harshit Rana, Tejasvi Singh (WK), Daksh Kamra. Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Trent Boult, Suryakumar Yadav, Quinton de Kock (WK), Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Corbin Bosch, Hardik Pandya (C), Jasprit Bumrah, Ryan Rickelton (WK), Will Jacks, Mayank Rawat, Mayank Markande, Sherfane Rutherford, Raghu Sharma, Atharva Ankolekar, Tilak Varma, Ashwani Kumar, Raj Bawa, Danish Malewar, Robin Minz (WK), Allah Ghazanfar, Naman Dhir, Mohammed Salahuddin Izhar. (With PTI Inputs)
28 March,2026 10:41 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentRoyal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) made a dream start to their Indian Premier League 2026 (IPL) campaign, with pacer Jacob Duffy ripping through the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) top order in the season opener at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday. After winning the toss, RCB skipper Rajat Patidar elected to bowl first, a decision that paid immediate dividends as Duffy struck early blows to leave SRH reeling. The right-arm pacer was on fire, picking up three wickets in his four-over spell. In a decisive over, he dismissed Abhishek Sharma (7 off 8) and Travis Head (11 off 9), denting SRH’s aggressive intent early in the innings. SRH slumped to 29/3 in just four overs, struggling to recover from the early collapse. Duffy’s third scalp came when Nitish Kumar Reddy (1 off 6) was caught by debutant Abhinandan Singh, capping off a sensational opening spell. The match also marked debuts for Abhinandan Singh (RCB) and Salil Arora (SRH), adding fresh faces to both line-ups. Earlier, a solemn moment preceded the high-octane clash as players and spectators observed a minute’s silence in memory of 11 RCB fans who tragically lost their lives on June 4 last year. As a mark of respect, players from both sides donned black armbands. The star-studded stands at the Chinnaswamy featured Anushka Sharma alongside Indian women’s cricket stars Smriti Mandhana, Shreyanka Patil, and Jemimah Rodrigues. Speaking at the toss, Patidar expressed optimism about the season ahead, stating that RCB would “try their best to add the second star” to their jersey. IPL 2026, Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Sunrisers Hyderabad: Confirmed Playing XI SRH: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan(wk/C), Heinrich Klaasen, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Salil Arora, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, Eshan Malinga RCB: Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Rajat Patidar(C), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Abhinandan Singh, Jacob Duffy, Suyash Sharma
28 March,2026 08:39 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentADVERTISEMENT
-1774805224188_d.png?tr=w-436,h-271 "Rohit Sharma (Pic: X/IPL)")
-1774779513599_d.png "Virat Kohli (Pic: ANI)")
