Mumbai Indians set for Kolkata Knight Riders showdown:Focus on Rohit Sharma’s form; MI won 24 matches against KKR

The second match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 will be played between Mumbai Indians and the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The match is scheduled to begin at 7:30 PM IST. In the last season, when both teams faced each other, Mumbai Indians comfortably chased down a target of 117 runs in just 12.5 overs, defeating the Kolkata Knight Riders by 8 wickets. That match was also played at the Wankhede Stadium, where MI’s young fast bowler Ashwani Kumar took 4 wickets for 24 runs in 3 overs, while Ryan Rickelton scored an unbeaten 62 runs off 41 balls. MI vs KKR: Match details Match info: Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Match 2 Date and Time: 29 March, 7:30 PM IST (toss at 7 PM) Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai Where to watch: JioHotstar, Star Sports network and Bhaskar English app MI vs KKR, head-to-head record Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders have faced each other 35 times in IPL history. Out of these, MI have dominated with 24 wins, while KKR have managed to win 11 matches so far. Rohit to play as an ‘Impact Player’, Bumrah joins MI camp This season, Rohit Sharma will be a key player to watch as he returns to the shortest format after a long gap since 2025. Last year, he played as an ‘Impact Player’ for the side. Meanwhile, Jasprit Bumrah has rejoined the Mumbai Indians camp after spending five days at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence, where he worked on his fitness and workload management. Bumrah is expected to lead the pace attack alongside Deepak Chahar, Hardik Pandya, and Trent Boult. Looking back at last season, T20 World Cup-winning captain Suryakumar Yadav was the top scorer for the Mumbai Indians, amassing 717 runs. On the bowling front, Trent Boult led the charts for the team with an impressive 22 wickets. Also read: Jasprit Bumrah joins Mumbai Indians’ camp: Likely to play against KKR, visited BCCI’s CoE citing fitness workload management KKR struggles with injury concerns, Harshit Rana ruled out Ahead of the season opener, KKR is already struggling with a lot of injury concerns, as four pacers are injured at the current moment. Harshit Rana has already been ruled out of the entire season, and Matheesha Pathirana is to join later (mid-April) after fitness clearance. The franchise had to release Mustafizur Rahman after the mini-auction. Kolkata’s batting looks strong, but its bowling lacks depth. Last season, skipper Ajinkya Rahane was the highest run-scorer as he had scored 390 runs. However, Varun Chakaravarthy finished the 2025 season as the highest wicket-taker for Kolkata with 17 wickets. This season, all eyes will be on fresh faces in the team like Blessing Muzarabani, Navdeep Saini and the appointment of Rinku Singh as vice-captain. Wankhede Stadium, pitch report The iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai offers a batting-friendly red-soil pitch that provides good bounce and high-scoring conditions. The short boundaries add to the advantage for batters. However, pacers can get some help early on, especially in night games, where dew often makes chasing the preferred option. The highest total at this venue was scored by RCB (235/1) in 2015. Mumbai weather report Sunday is expected to be warm and slightly humid, with the temperature around 30°C. There is a 15% chance of precipitation, so rain is unlikely but not completely ruled out. Humidity will be around 69%, making the weather feel a bit sticky. However, winds are likely to blow at a speed of 23 km/h in Mumbai, relieving the spectators in the stands.