Mumbai Indians began their IPL 2026 campaign by breaking their long-standing curse, their first since 2012. They won their first match of the season after a long wait of 13 seasons, and it was Rohit Sharma who led the charge against the Kolkata Knight Riders as they chased a massive total of over 220 at their Wankhede Stadium.

However, after a perfect start, Mumbai continued to lose games in a row as they lost four matches against rivals like Delhi Capitals, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings. They made up for it with a stunning win against the Gujarat Titans, but then failed to maintain their momentum and lost the next match at home to rivals Chennai Super Kings.

Coming into their eighth match against the Sunrisers at home, this match held immense importance for Mumbai as winning would keep them in contention for a playoff spot; Otherwise, they were likely to be eliminated from the season.

Ryan Rickelton sets the tone for MI bowlers with unbeaten hundred for MI

Wins have not been part of Mumbai’s record this season as they have lost five of their matches and are on the verge of losing their last chance to make the playoffs in this edition of the IPL.

With a disappointing wrist injury to Quinton de Kock, Ryan Rickelton returned to the Mumbai Indians, while Will Jacks finally played his first game of the season. The two-handed MI got off to a surprising start on the power play, scoring at a very high rate.

Off to a solid start for Mumbai Indians, Ryan Rickelton continued the attack and batted throughout the innings, finishing with a solid 123 off just 55 balls while batting at 223.64 for his first century in the IPL.

With partnerships alongside Naman Dhir and Hardik Pandya, he took Mumbai on a flight and helped them post a massive 243 runs in the 20 overs.

The return of Travis Head and the consistency of Heinrich Klaasen gave SRH their fifth consecutive victory of the season

Unlike all these games for Hyderabad so far in this season of the competition, Travis Head finally got going in this game against Mumbai Indians on one of the best suited batting tracks in India.

Abhishek Sharma gave them a fast start alongside Travis Head, the Australian opener who smashed a 30-ball 76 to start the innings. Heinrich Klaasen finished the innings with a knock of 65 off just 30 balls.

Salil Arora returned with a convincing score as he ended the innings with 30 runs scored in the last 10 balls of the innings. Sunrisers finished the fourth-highest chase in IPL history with eight balls to spare in the innings.

I don’t think dew played much of a role: Hardik Pandya after humiliating defeat.

“I don’t think dew played a big role, just that they played some good shots, we bowled some bad balls, they got to a shuttler. I think we managed it, but it wasn’t enough. Yes, I enjoyed it, I had fun on the ground today,” said Hardik Pandya despite his loss at Wankhede.

Hardik Pandya continued: “Yes, I think 244, I think I will back my players to stop it, but some other day today we couldn’t execute. I also really enjoyed bowling, except for the last three balls, but apart from that, I really enjoyed it.”

“Yeah, I think it’s been that kind of season. When you get a couple of opportunities, you take advantage of them; that’s when the luck and momentum changes. If you don’t, it hurts a little bit, but it’s still good. All the guys tried really well. They gave it their all; it didn’t work out.”

“I think as an overall unit we haven’t been able to do exactly what Mumbai Indians stand for. We really need to see what we need to work on, and that’s okay. I think we have passionate owners; we have passionate support staff. We always discover something,” Hardik Pandya revealed about the team’s overall performance this season and their chances of bouncing back.

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