Mumbai: Mumbai Indians walk into IPL 2026 carrying a streak most franchises would quietly pretend doesn’t exist. The five-time champions have lost their season opener 13 years running — every single one, from 2013 to 2025. The last time they won their first game of the year, they hadn’t won a single title yet. That was 2012.
Sunday’s match against Kolkata Knight Riders at Wankhede gives Hardik Pandya’s side a chance to finally bury that record.
The run of losses spans every opponent and every margin imaginable — a 2-run heartbreaker against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2013, a 9-wicket thrashing by Rising Pune Supergiant in 2016, a 1-wicket gut-punch against Chennai Super Kings in 2018. Last year, MI fell again — to CSK — to keep the streak intact.
Despite the dubious record, MI arrive as one of the title favourites. The squad is well-balanced across departments, mixing experience with youth, and the Hardik Pandya-led side looks more settled than it did a year ago. They finished third in IPL 2025, losing to Punjab Kings in Qualifier 2 — close, but not close enough.
The trophy itself hasn’t been theirs since 2020. Five years is a long wait for a franchise that dominated the competition between 2013 and 2020.
KKR arrive at Wankhede depleted, which makes this as good an opportunity as any to end both the season-opener drought and kickstart a proper title charge.