The TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, match no.24 was between the Mumbai Indians (MI) and Punjab Kings (PBKS). The match is played at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, and it is set to be a high-scoring affair. MI did win their opening game against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), have not won a game since then.
PBKS won the toss and elected to field first. During the toss Hardik Pandya gave an update on the team’s former captain Rohit Sharma, as the opener sustained a hamstring injury and has been ruled out of tonight’s clash. Pandya also informed that Mitchell Santner misses out as the New Zealand skipper is unwell.
Rohit Sharma misses out
Rohit Sharma’s miss will be a big blow for the MI side, as over the years, he has been responsible for giving an explosive start to the five-time winners, and his leadership inputs will also be missing in this game. Rohit is the leading run getter for the side at the moment.
This season Rohit Sharma has been in sensational touch and have scored 137 runs in four games at a strike rate of 165.06. Rohit Sharma last missed an IPL game in the 2025 season in MI’s clash against LSG after suffering an injury to the IT (iliotibial) band in the knee.
Rohit Sharma is out from the last game- Hardik Pandya
Mitchell Santner was expensive in the last game; however, he is a crucial member of MI’s setup in recent times. On a pitch like Wankhede, his experience would have been a gain for the five-time winners. As the pitch is kind of dry, it would have gained some spin during the match.
During the toss, Pandya, on being asked, “What’s the injury news because you’ve been plagued by some injuries?” He replied, “Yeah, Rohit is out from the last game. He’s gonna take a couple of games for him to see how exactly where he is. And Mitchell is unwell as well. So Mitchell Santner also is not available. So, yeah, we got a couple of changes. Quinny comes back and we have a debutant, Mayank Rawat.”
Losing those big moments- Pandya on MI’s plans
Hardik Pandya also stated that MI have been looking forward to the remaining matches and will try to capitalize on the chances they get and win the matches. It is a do-or-die situation for Mumbai, as if they lose another match, they will be out of the playoff equation.
“We would have loved to bowl first as well, but yeah, good toss to lose. (But time to make a move?) Yes, time to play some good cricket, time to get that W win. So, yes, I think we played decent cricket. It’s just that in a couple of overs, we have not been able to capitalize and we have been, kind of losing those big moments.”
“And we’re just gonna speak about that and just make sure that in this game, we come out there and make sure that those little battles, we keep winning it. Yes, I think last game, we went for four 20+ overs. I think any point of time in T20 cricket, that’s not acceptable.”
