Rohit's Fifty Destroys KKR as Hitman Smashes Record Powerplay Blast

Rohit Sharma marked his return to T20 cricket with a commanding innings for the Mumbai Indians in their IPL 2026 match against the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium. He scored 78 off 38 balls and registered his fastest half-century in the IPL.

Playing his first full T20 match in several months, Rohit looked in control early in the innings and attacked both pace and spin during the powerplay. He reached his fifty in 23 balls, the quickest of his IPL career, and also recorded the first instance of a 50-plus score within the powerplay in IPL history.

Powerplay Assault Sets the Tone

Rohit targeted the new-ball bowlers and maintained the momentum against spin. He took on Varun Chakravarthy in a decisive over that yielded multiple boundaries. 

He continued the aggressive approach against the pace attack, including Kartik Tyagi. By the end of the powerplay, Mumbai had gained early control of the chase.

Coach Backs Rohit’s Approach

Mumbai Indians coach Mahela Jayawardene praised Rohit’s preparation and approach after the match.

"I think after so many years I've had him from day one of the camp, he played some really good match practice games. We had a lot of simulations for him, especially to get him going, and I was quite happy the way he was hitting the ball… I thought he batted brilliantly"

Jayawardene also said the batter is playing with more freedom now that he is no longer leading the side.

"Just him, he's freed himself up," Mahela Jayawardene, the MI coach said after the game. "He's thinking much calmer, he's not the leader, there's less pressure on him. This happens - it happened to me as well in my last few years when I went and played franchise cricket.

"You practice less, but your memory - your muscle memory - it works. And you just go with the flow, you know, what the bowlers are trying to do. And once you're in that mode, you have that freedom which we've noticed in Rohit in the last couple of years. And we encourage him to go and do that, and the rest of the team is backing him to do that and I'm quite happy about it."

Rohit’s innings included several sixes on both sides of the wicket, and the knock added to his strong record at the Wankhede Stadium, where he has now scored over 2500 IPL runs.