Rohit and Rickelton blast Mumbai Indians to record-breaking chase against KKR
Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickelton put on 148 for the opening wicket as Mumbai Indians chased down 221 to beat Kolkata Knight Riders by six wickets at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday night.
Rohit rolls back the years with 23-ball fifty
Rohit walked out to a roaring Wankhede crowd and treated them to the kind of innings that made him one of the most destructive openers in IPL history. He raced to fifty in just 23 balls, the fastest half-century of his IPL career, beating the 25-ball effort he managed against Chennai Super Kings in the 2015 final. He finished with 78 off 38, smashing six fours and six sixes before Anukul Roy held on to a catch off Vaibhav Arora’s bowling.
That knock also brought up his 50th IPL half-century, making him only the fourth player after Virat Kohli, David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan to reach that mark in the tournament’s history.
Rickelton picks up where Rohit left off
At the other end, Rickelton was every bit as aggressive. The South African left-hander hammered eight sixes and four boundaries on his way to 81 off 43 balls. The pair put on 148 in 72 deliveries, the highest opening stand by any MI pair against KKR in IPL history and MI’s second-highest opening partnership ever, behind only the unbeaten 163 that Dwayne Smith and Sachin Tendulkar shared against Rajasthan Royals back in 2012.
Rickelton was eventually run out by Anukul Roy for 81, but by then the damage was done. Hardik Pandya and Naman Dhir saw MI home with five balls to spare.
KKR post 220 but it was never going to be enough
Earlier in the evening, KKR looked to have set a winning total after being put in to bat. Finn Allen got them off to a rapid start with 37 off 17 balls before Shardul Thakur removed him. Captain Ajinkya Rahane then anchored the innings with 67 off 40 while Angkrish Raghuvanshi, given a life when Rohit shelled a catch off his batting, made the most of the reprieve with 51 off 29. Rinku Singh chipped in with an unbeaten 33 to push KKR to 220 for four.
Thakur was MI’s standout bowler, finishing with three wickets, including the key dismissals of Allen, Rahane and Cameron Green. Bumrah went wicketless but kept things tight during the powerplay, and Pandya picked up one scalp from his three overs.
Opening-game curse finally broken
MI had not won the first match of an IPL season since 2012. That is 13 straight years of coming up short in the opener. They did not just break the streak on Sunday, they did it by pulling off their highest successful run chase in the franchise’s history. If this is the template for the rest of the season, opponents should be worried.
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