Rohit Sharma Follows Virat Kohli's Footsteps, Destroys KKR With 38-Ball 78 On Return To T20 Cricket After 10 Months

Rohit Sharma made a fantastic return to T20 cricket with the bat, slamming a spectacular half-century for Mumbai Indians (MI) against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their IPL 2026 clash on Sunday. Playing his first T20 since the last edition of the IPL, Rohit made mincemeat of KKR's bowling in the powerplay, hammering a fifty off just 23 balls. Despite dropping a catch earlier in the game, Rohit more than made up for it with a blazing fifty to help MI put up 80 runs in the powerplay.

Rohit ultimately ended up making 78 runs off 38 balls, getting out in the 12th over to Vaibhav Arora after a stunning catch was taken by Anukul Roy.

Rohit's comeback to T20 cricket, therefore, has been similarly successful to fellow India veteran stalwart Virat Kohli, who also smashed a terrific 69* off 38 balls to guide Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Saturday.

Rohit and South Africa opener Ryan Rickelton stitched a spectacular 145-run partnership, demolishing the KKR bowling attack to all parts of the ground in a destructive batting display. 

Meanwhile, Kolkata Knight Riders' captan Ajinkya Rahane was on Sunday forced to leave the field seemingly after suffering cramps in the second half of their Indian Premier League clash here against Mumbai Indians.

In Rahane's absence, India all-rounder Rinku Singh who was named the vice-captain before the IPL 2026 began, took over the captaincy role.

Rahane was down on the field after the completion of the fourth over in MI's chase of 221 and despite receiving some treatment from the team physiotherapist, the 37-year-old could not continue.

After lying down for a few minutes, the KKR skipper was helped by his teammates to get up and for a short while even had his hands on shoulders of two others to get off the field. However, Rahane eventually walked off himself but with a limp. However it is still not clear whether it is simple cramps or a case of injury to calf muscle or hamstring.

Topics mentioned in this article

Rohit Sharma Virat Kohli Ryan Rickelton Mumbai Indians Kolkata Knight Riders IPL 2026 Cricket