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Rickelton, Rohit, Shardul break Mumbai’s first-game jinx
Before Sunday, Mumbai Indians had never chased down a 220-plus target in their previous seven attempts. MI had never won their opening game of the IPL since 2012. On day two of IPL 2026, MI broke two jinxes as they chased down 221 in 19.1 overs to begin their season with a comfortable six-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders. Rohit Sharma wound back the clock, smashing 78 off 38 balls, while Ryan Rickelton thumped 81 off 43, the duo adding 148 runs for the opening wicket off 71 balls.
That KKR were coming into this opening game severely depleted on the bowling front was known. The extent of it was visible on Sunday night with Vaibhav Arora and Blessing Muzarabani toothless, Varun Chakravarthy ineffective and Sunil Narine a shadow of his former self.
At the halfway mark, KKR might have been happy reaching 220 for 4, their second-highest score against MI in the IPL. Ajinkya Rahane, who at the toss said that he had “never seen so much of grass at Wankhede”, scored 67 off 40 balls while Angkrish Raghuvanshi, another Mumbai lad, made 51 off 29 as KKR breached the 220 mark. But against a KKR unit missing several of their frontline seamers, MI barely had any hiccups, completing the highest-successful IPL chase at the Wankhede with five balls to spare.
It was a typical Rohit innings that Wankhede has witnessed so many times, laced with some of the most pristine shots. He was on 12 off eight at one stage, but once in, he lit up Mumbai like only he can. Coming into the game, he had a strike rate of less than 100 against Varun in T20s. So, what did he do? He lofted the spinner inside-out over covers first ball and then lifted him for six the next ball. By the time the powerplay was done, Rohit had raced to a 23-ball fifty, his fastest in the IPL and MI’s chase was on course.
They raced to 80 in the first six, past 100 in 8.1 overs and by the time Rohit fell, thanks to a lovely catch by Anukul Roy running back from mid-off, MI’s required rate had gone below nine, which at the start of the innings was above 11 an over.
There were a few raised eyebrows when Rickelton was picked over the more experienced Quinton de Kock , but the former justified his selection. Rickelton needed just the first couple of overs to get a hang of the surface and once he did, there was no stopping him. He deposited Arora for back-to-back sixes, one over extra cover and then over deep midwicket, and that kickstarted a brutal takedown of the KKR bowlers.
While he saw Rohit do his thing in the powerplay, Rickelton took on Narine after the six-over mark. He slog swept him over deep midwicket in his first over and then launched him over the ropes twice in three balls in the next to raise a 24-ball fifty.
He didn’t stop there and only fell courtesy a stunning direct hit from the deep by Anukul. Suryakumar Yadav, the Impact Sub, came and went, but Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma took MI closer. Hardik finished on an unbeaten 18 off 11 balls, while Naman Dhir hit the winning runs off Anukul as MI started their IPL 2026 in style.
Finn Allen brought his stellar form international cricket to the IPL. After facing five dot balls against Hardik, he went after MI debutant AM Ghazanfar, pumping him to the deep square fence and then spanking him for an 86-metre six over wide long-on. Another six capped off Ghazanfar’s opening over. Rahane then went after Hardik, thumping him for back-to-back sixes and Allen then got on strike and went 4, 4, 4. A monster 26-run over against Hardik helped KKR race past fifty in 3.5 overs, their fastest against MI in the IPL.
Shardul Thqkur, on MI debut, then brought his experience into play and sent back Allen who shoveled a slower length ball to long-off but Rahane carried on. He struck two fours off Thakur as KKR finished on 78 for 1 in six overs.
Two Mumbai boys on opposite ends were critical to their team’s cause. After removing Allen, Thakur sent back Cameron Green, whose innings lasted just ten balls and he then dismissed Rahane with a hard length delivery outside off that was mistimed to extra cover. At this point, KKR were still going at over ten an over but had lost steam, thanks to some terrific bowling from Bumrah, Trent Boult and Thakur.
Enter the other Mumbai boy, Raghuvanshi. He was on 17 off 14 at one stage but found a new lease of life after being dropped by Rohit at long-on. He closed out the 15th over with a four and six against Ghazanfar and then launched Thakur over long-on. Raghuvanshi added 60 off 30 balls with Rinku Singh for the fourth wicket, reaching his fifty off 28 balls as KKR raced past 200 in the 19th over.
Rinku struck unbeaten on 33 off 21 as KKR finished on 220 for 4 but it wasn’t enough.
Brief scores:
Mumbai Indians 221 for 4 in 19.1 overs (Ryan Rickelton 81, Rohit Sharma 78, Suryakumar Yadav 16, Tilak Varma 20, HardikPandya 18*; Vaibhav Arora 1-52, Kartik Tyagi 1-43, Sunil Narine 1-30) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 220 for 4 in 20 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 67, Finn Allen 37, Cameron Green 18, Angkrish Raghuvanshi 51, Rinku Singh 33*; Hardik Pandya 1-39, Shardul Thakur 3-39) by six wickets
[Cricinfo]
Qualifier Maja Chwalinska is one win away from a fairytale French Open triumph after setting up a final showdown with Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva.
The Polish world number 114, who had only ever won one match at a Grand Slam before this tournament, continued her astonishing run at Roland Garros by beating 25th seed Diana Shnaider 7-6 (7-4) 6-4.
Three weeks and nine matches after her French Open campaign began, Chwalinska dropped to the ground after firing in the 32nd and final winner of another scintillating display.
With that, she became the first qualifier in history to reach the women’s singles final at Roland Garros, and the crowd chanted her name as she spoke in her post-match interview.
On Saturday, she will attempt to become only the second qualifier in the Open era to win a Grand Slam after Britain’s Emma Raducannu at the 2021 US Open.
It would be a fitting conclusion to a French Open filled with spectacular shocks from the outset.
But, on the evidence of her dominant victory over Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk, the in-form Andreeva will provide the sternest test of her credentials to date.
A beaten semi-finalist in 2024, the 19-year-old was hugely impressive in a 6-1 6-3 victory that made her the third-youngest woman to reach the Roland Garros showpiece this century, after Coco Gauff and Kim Clijsters.
Should she prevail in her first major final, eighth seed Andreeva would become the third-youngest first-time Grand Slam champion this century, after Maria Sharapova and Raducanu.
(BBC)
Volodymyr Zelensky has called for a face-to-face meeting between himself and Vladimir Putin in a renewed bid to end the war.
In an open letter to the Russian president, the Ukrainian leader said it would be “wrong to simply wait” until the war in Europe becomes the focus of the US’s attention once more, adding peace could only come “through direct engagement between” Ukraine and Russia.
He also called for a full ceasefire for the duration of proposed negotiations – something Putin ruled out earlier on Thursday.
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he thought “it would be great” if the two leaders met.
The Kremlin confirmed it had received the letter.
The tone of the letter was defiant, even mocking, drawing attention to Ukraine’s recent strikes on Russian territory.
Zelensky stated that “after 26 years in power, age is beginning to take its toll” on Putin.
The letter also provided an invitation.
“Ukraine proposes ending this war through direct engagement between us – and you. I am proposing a meeting,” Zelensky wrote.
It’s not a new offer from Ukraine’s leader.
As it has before, the Kremlin responded, saying Zelensky was welcome to meet Putin in Moscow.
What was notable was Kyiv’s public acknowledgement that the US “is fully focused on the issue of Iran”.
“It would be wrong to simply wait until the war in Europe returns to the centre of its attention,” Zelensky wrote.
Speaking to foreign journalists in St Petersburg, without apparently having seen the contents of the letter, Putin said he was “certainly prepared and willing to reach an agreement with Ukraine”, but said compromises needed to be made.
Putin suggested that as Trump was busy with Iran, the EU could talk Zelensky into surrendering territory.
Putin’s longstanding position has been that Ukraine should withdraw from four regions largely occupied by Russia – Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia – and give up its efforts to join Nato.
Ukraine has ruled out ceding territory, saying it would embolden Russia to invade again, as it had in 2022 when it launched its full-scale war eight years after illegally annexing Crimea.
Ceasefire negotiations have stalled in recent months, and previous peace talks in Geneva, Abu Dhabi and Istanbul have failed.
In the letter, which is more than 1,800 words long, Zelensky said: “It is not as if we in Ukraine are concerned about the fate of Russian soldiers after everything your war has brought to our country.
“But I do care about Ukrainians. We are losing our people, and every loss is painful to us.”
Zelensky said Russians had become tired of Ukrainian drone and missile attacks, petrol shortages and rising prices, as well as war.
“Do not be afraid to take the path out of this war. That is the main thing that is required of you now,” he implored.
He said Ukraine was proposing to end the war “through direct engagement between us”.
Zelensky said face-to-face negotiations could take place in a country such as Switzerland or Turkey.
The Ukrainian president’s letter came on the same day Putin was in St Petersburg, where a major economic forum is taking place.
The previous day Kyiv had launched a drone attack on the city’s outskirts, a strike mentioned in Zelensky’s message as “paying a visit”.
Separately Russian-backed authorities in occupied Crimea blamed Ukraine for the death of four people in attacks on the regional capital, Simferopol. Ukraine said it had hit a fuel depot.
On Friday, Ukrainian authorities said at least four people had been killed in a Russian strike on the offices of a food company outside Kyiv.
During his press conference on Thursday, Putin appeared to immediately cast doubt on whether a meeting or deal could ever take place.
Whether Mr Zelensky is a legitimate representative of Ukraine, this is a question for the lawyers, for a legal analysis,” he said – a repetition of a Russian line that there has been no presidential election since Zelensky’s term expired in May 2024.
However, elections have been suspended in Ukraine since martial law was declared after Russia’s invasion.
Trump said he thought the US had been instrumental in bringing the two countries closer to peace.
“I think it would be great if they met. They should. Get it done,” he said.
Asked about the compromises the two sides would have to make, he said he would “rather not say”.
“I want them each to make certain compromises, and I think they’re going to do it.”
(BBC)
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