Hardik Pandya Heaped Praise On Rohit Sharma: Indian Premier League 2026 The second match was played last night i.e. on 29th March between Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders. In this match played at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, Mumbai Indians won by 6 wickets. After the victory over Kolkata Knight Riders, team captain Hardik Pandya said that he had to wait a long time to win the first match of the season. Mumbai Indians have always been a slow starting team in the IPL. The team last won its first match in the IPL in the year 2012, in which it defeated Chennai Super Kings by eight wickets. The team won the title five times between 2013 and 2020, but the losing streak continued in the first match of this league.

Hardik Pandya said while talking to broadcasters

Talking to broadcasters after the match, Hardik Pandya said, ‘Had to wait a long time to win the first match of the season. Whenever we came on the field, we always thought of starting the season on a strong note. The whole team is very happy that we were able to do this.

Hardik gave credit for the victory to the bowlers

Mumbai won the match by achieving the target of 221 runs given by Kolkata Knight Riders. Regarding chasing this big target, Hardik Pandya said, ‘Looking at the current mood and pitch in cricket, it goes to the credit of our bowlers that they did not allow KKR to reach the score of 240 or 250 runs. These targets become difficult, but a score of 220 can be achieved.

Rohit Sharma was praised a lot

On choosing between Ryan Rickelton and Quinton de Kock, Hardik said, ‘Ryan performed very well for us last year and Quincy is a great person. They understood that we were supporting one player and wanted to maintain continuity in the team. This method worked. Whenever I see Rohit Sharma playing some shots, everyone’s mouth remains open. His batting is not excellent, but tremendous.

MI vs KKR Highlights: Historic win for Mumbai Indians, defeated Kolkata by 6 wickets; Shardul received POTM award

In the second match of IPL 2026, the teams of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Mumbai Indians (MI) are on the field. In the match, KKR batted first and put 220/4 runs on the board in 20 overs. Ajinkya Rahane played the biggest innings for the team and scored 67 runs in 40 balls with the help of 3 fours and 5 sixes. Apart from this, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who came at number four for the team, did wonders and scored 51 runs in 29 balls with the help of 6 fours and 2 sixes. During this period, Shardul Thakur took maximum 3 wickets in his account for Mumbai.

In the match, Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya won the toss and decided to bowl. Kolkata, who came to bat first, had a good start. The team had scored 78 runs for 1 wicket in the powerplay i.e. in the first 6 overs. Ajinkya Rahane and Finn Allen, who opened for the team, gave a good start to the team by making a partnership of 69 (32 balls) for the first wicket.

Along with the beginning, Kolkata also had a good ending. 21 runs came in the last 2 overs of the innings. In the beginning, Rahane gave a class to the Mumbai bowlers. Then in the end Raghuvanshi took the team to the mark of 220 runs with amazing batting.

KKR innings

Rahane and Finn Allen added 69 runs for the first wicket for Kolkata. During this period Allen scored 37 runs. After this, Ajinkya Rahane and Cameron Green together added 40 runs (21 balls) for the second wicket. Then moving forward, Rahane made a partnership of 36 (28 balls) with Angkrish Raghuvanshi for the third wicket.

After this, Angkrish Raghuvanshi along with Rinku Singh helped the team reach a good total by making a partnership of 60 (30 balls) for the fourth wicket. Vice-captain Rinku scored 33* runs for the team with the help of 4 fours in 21 balls.

Also read: MI vs KKR: Mumbai Indians created history, became the first franchise team in the world to do so