Virat Kohli Surpasses Babar Azam, Chris Gayle; Achieves Mega First vs Mumbai Indians In IPL

Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Virat Kohli vs Rohit Sharma - Sunday could not have gotten better for cricket fans. At the Wankhede Stadium, the two giants clashed in the biggest match of IPL 2026 so far. Virat Kohli played a patient knock while Phil Salt and Rajat Patidar rained fury. Kohli, though, also achieved a few major firsts. The former RCB captain is now the first batter to score 1,000-plus runs against MI. KL Rahul (977) and Shikhar Dhawan (901) are next in the list. 

Kohli also surpassed Chris Gayle and Babar Azam for being involved in the most century partnerships in T20s. The 120-run stand between Phil Salt and Kohli is the second-highest opening partnership for RCB against MI in the IPL. The highest remains the 148-run stand added by Faf du Plessis and Kohli in Bengaluru in 2023.

Most century partnerships in T20 cricket

47 - Virat Kohli*

46 - Chris Gayle

46 - Babar Azam

45 - David Warner

40 - Faf du Plessis

Talking about the match, Mumbai Indians (MI) won the toss and decided to field against defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Match No. 20 of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 on Sunday.

The high-voltage clash between five-time champions MI and defending champions RCB is being played at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

After winning the toss, MI skipper Hardik Pandya confirmed that Mayank Markande and Mitchell Santner came in for Rahul Chahar and Ghazanfar in their playing XI.

"We're going to bowl first. It looks like a good track. We played the first game on the other pitch; this looks similar. It's always good to bat second here. I think it's a big game. Just want to come out and play our best cricket, do the things we've spoken about in the meetings, and enjoy the sport. We requested good wickets, and we've been getting them," Pandya said.

"As long as you land the ball right as a bowler and play the right shots as a batter, you're in the game. Over the years at Wankhede, chasing has worked for a lot of teams. Being our home ground, dew comes in later as well. So it's good to know what you're chasing and plan your innings accordingly. Mayank Markande and Mitchell Santner come in for Chahar and Ghazanfar," the MI skipper added.

After losing the toss, RCB captain Rajat Patidar said that Jacob Duffy replaced Josh Hazlewood in the playing XI.

"Obviously, we would have bowled first. But as you all know, it's a good batting track. The ball comes nicely onto the bat with good bounce, so it won't make too much difference. We'll try to put a good total on the board and keep them under pressure. This is our fourth game," Patidar said.

"The way we've played in the last few matches, there are a lot of positives. In the last match, we were 97 for 6 and still managed to score over 200. That's a positive sign for us. We enjoy playing here a lot. Whenever we come, we see great crowds. It's challenging but also fun and exciting. Just one change - Duffy comes in place of Hazlewood," the RCB skipper added

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Topics mentioned in this article

Mumbai Indians Royal Challengers Bengaluru IPL 2026 Virat Kohli Babar Azam Chris Gayle Cricket