India batting legend Sachin Tendulkar lauded Rohit Sharma and Shardul Thakur after Mumbai Indians kicked off their IPL 2026 campaign with a thumping victory over Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday. Playing at the iconic Wankhede Stadium, the five-time champions chased down a target of 221 with six wickets in hand and five balls to spare. Openers Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickelton laid the foundation for Mumbai’s successful chase with a brilliant 148-run partnership. Earlier, Shardul Thakur made a notable impact with the ball, picking up three crucial wickets to put KKR under pressure.
As Mumbai Indians broke their 13-year-old jinx of losing their opening match of an IPL season, Tendulkar took to X (formerly Twitter) to congratulate the team for starting their title defence in dominant fashion.
“A good start to the innings makes all scores look comfortably chaseable! Rickelton and Rohit gave MI a lot of breathing room early on and set us up for the win. Solid first outing for Shardul as well, in a high-scoring match. Looking forward to a great season!” wrote Sachin on X.
A good start to the innings makes all scores look comfortably chaseable! Rickelton and Rohit gave MI a lot of breathing room early on and set us up for the win. Solid first outing for Shardul as well, in a high-scoring match.
Looking forward to a great season!
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) March 29, 2026
Shardul Thakur emerged as the pick of the bowlers for MI, finishing with impressive figures of 3/39 in his four overs. After the win, skipper Hardik Pandya praised Shardul’s performance and even assured him a place in the MI squad for the remainder of his IPL career.
Notably, Shardul, a Mumbai-born cricketer, has represented six different IPL franchises before being signed by Mumbai Indians ahead of the 2026 season.
“I told him [Shardul] this season, enough hopping of franchises. I want you to be here for the rest of your career. He’s a character; he has a big heart. The way he comes out and always tries to outsmart a batter is simply brilliant. Really happy for him,” said Hardik during the post-match interaction.
On the other hand, Thakur, who was named Player of the Match for his effort, said he likes to take up challenges, and Sunday presented such a situation.
“I’ve said this before, I like challenges. This was a challenging situation, especially in the sixth over. Because you expect Boult or Bumrah to get early wickets, but that didn’t happen. So it was challenging coming in and bowling that sixth over. Challenges are what have made me. This ground has given me both bitter and sweet memories,” said Thakur in the post-match presentation.