IPL 2026 Tips - Mumbai Indians v Kolkata Knight Riders

Five-time champions Mumbai Indians open their IPL 2026 campaign at home against a Kolkata Knight Riders side that has been smashed by availability issues.

Head to Head

Mumbai Indians

Head to Head

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$1.47

The home side look as close to a good thing as you’ll see in IPL cricket, although there’s little value at the price.

MI hold a dominant 24-11 head-to-head record over KKR across 35 IPL meetings, and the Wankhede has been close to impenetrable. The hosts have won 10 of 12 there, with KKR’s only victories coming in 2008 and 2024.

The big story is what KKR are missing. They rebuilt their pace attack in the auction with Mustafizur Rahman, Pathirana and Akash Deep, and come the first game none of them is available. Akash Deep is out for the tournament, Pathirana is recovering from a calf strain, Mustafizur was released on BCCI instruction, and Harshit Rana is sidelined with a knee complaint. Vaibhav Arora, Blessing Muzarabani and Umran Malik are the replacements.

MI have their own absentees in Jacks and Santner, but Bumrah is ready to go and the Boult-Chahar new ball combination remains dangerous. The Wankhede pitch stays true and limits toss advantage, but MI’s overall depth is simply greater.

It’s hard to look past the hosts.

Best Bet

Rohit Sharma

30+ Runs

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$1.73

The veteran has lifted his strike rate significantly in recent seasons, going at 150 in IPL 2025 and 149 the year before. He has accumulated 1,083 IPL runs against KKR, the most of any MI batter in this rivalry, and faces a depleted pace attack on a surface that he enjoys.

Suryakumar Yadav

50+ Runs

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$3.00

Suryakumar was MI’s standout batter in IPL 2025, finishing with 717 runs — the most by a non-opener in T20 tournament history. He comes in at No. 4 against a KKR pace attack that has lost Pathirana, Akash Deep, Harshit Rana and Mustafizur before a ball has been bowled. If MI are batting in the middle overs against that attack at the Wankhede, SKY is going to be very hard to stop.

Same Game Multi

MI H2H / Rohit Sharma & Suryakumar Yadav 20+ Runs / Bumrah 2+ Wickets

Editor in Chief

Frankie McDonald

Frankie has spent more than two decades working in the Australian wagering industry and is widely regarded for his expertise in AFL, NRL and horse racing tips.