Mumbai Indians (MI) won the toss and opted to bowl against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their opening match of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2026) on Sunday. MI, who are bidding for a record-extending sixth IPL title, became the first franchise to play 300 T20 matches. Overall, the five-time IPL champions are the third team across international, franchise and domestic cricket to reach this landmark, joining Pakistan and the English county side Somerset in the elite list.
Pakistan and Somerset have each played 303 matches.
Among IPL teams, MI is second to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) with 287 matches, followed by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) with 281. Mumbai have played 277 IPL matches over 18 seasons and 22 Champions League T20 matches across five seasons.
The milestone of 300 matches is a testament not only to their longevity but also to the sustained excellence that has seen them claim five IPL titles in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020, the joint-most by any franchise alongside Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
While the franchise is still hunting for their sixth IPL crown, MI last won their IPL season opener in 2012 when they defeated CSK by eight wickets. In their last 18 campaign openers, MI have won four games and lost 14. Notably, they lost their very first match as well, to Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2008.
Over the years, MI has produced some of the league’s most memorable moments, from the lethal death-over spells of Lasith Malinga to the finishing prowess of Kieron Pollard and the emergence of Indian stars like Jasprit Bumrah and Ishan Kishan.
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (capt), Sherfane Rutherford, Naman Dhir, Shardul Thakur, Mayank Markande, AM Ghazanfar, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult
Kolkata Knight Riders: Finn Allen, Ajinkya Rahane (capt), Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy, Blessing Muzarabani
(With IANS Inputs)