On Sunday, Mumbai Indians (MI) launch their campaign for a potential sixth IPL championship as they welcome Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to the Wankhede Stadium. While the Hardik Pandya-led MI squad has been chasing a title since 2020, KKR enters the season looking for their fourth trophy and their first since their 2024 victory.

Follow MI vs KKR Live Score Updates

Match Logistics

Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Date & Time: Sunday, 29 March at 7:30 pm IST

Television: Live on Star Sports Network

Streaming: JioHotstar app and website (subscription required)

Ticketing: Available via BookMyShow

Head-to-Head Record

In 35 previous encounters, Mumbai Indians have maintained a dominant record with 24 victories, while Kolkata Knight Riders have secured 11 wins.

A standout moment in their rivalry occurred in IPL 2024 when KKR snapped a 12-year losing streak in Mumbai. Despite being 57/5, Venkatesh Iyer (70) and Manish Pandey (42) pushed KKR to 169. In response, MI was dismissed for 145 as Mitchell Starc claimed 4/33. At the Wankhede specifically, MI holds a 10-2 advantage over KKR.

Team News and Predicted XI

Mumbai Indians

Coach Mahela Jayawardene confirmed that Will Jacks and Mitchell Santner are taking an extended break and will miss this game. However, Jasprit Bumrah is confirmed fit following conditioning at the BCCI Centre of Excellence. Rohit Sharma will open, likely partnered by either Quinton de Kock or Ryan Rickelton.

Predicted XI: Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock/Ryan Rickelton, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (C), Sherfane Rutherford, Naman Dhir, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Allah Ghazanfar.

Kolkata Knight Riders

KKR faces a depleted pace unit with Harshit Rana and Akash Deep ruled out. They have brought in Navdeep Saini and Saurabh Dubey as replacements. Additionally, Zimbabwe’s Blessing Muzarabani joins the squad following the release of Mustafizur Rahman. Matheesha Pathirana is also unavailable for the start of the season due to a calf injury.

Predicted XI: Finn Allen, Ajinkya Rahane (C), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Cameron Green, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Sunil Narine, Rachin Ravindra, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy, Kartik Tyagi.

Key Players to Watch

Jasprit Bumrah (MI): His opening spell will be vital against KKR’s new openers.

Suryakumar Yadav (MI): Coming off a 717-run season in 2025 and a recent unbeaten 84 against the USA in the T20 World Cup.

Cameron Green (KKR): The 25 crore signing faces his former team after missing the 2025 season.

Pitch Report

Surface: The red soil provides predictable bounce, favoring high-scoring games and stroke play. Short boundaries increase the likelihood of high totals.

Early Overs: A light grass cover may offer swing and seam for the first 3 to 4 overs.

Middle Overs: Variations will be key as the pitch can become two-paced. Spinners like Narine and Chakravarthy will face a challenge against aggressive batters like Surya and Pandya.

Dew Factor: Humidity is expected to rise from 67% to 76% by 10 pm. Dew may impact play around the 14th over of the second innings, making the ball slippery for bowlers.

Toss Strategy: Teams should look to field first. A par score is 195+; anything under 180 is considered vulnerable.