Mumbai Indians’ second match of IPL 2026 brought a record for Rohit Sharma and a sixth-wicket defeat — and yet another absence of their regular captain Hardik Pandya, who missed out due to illness.

Rohit’s Record Against Delhi Capitals

The milestone came in the 10th over of MI’s innings. Facing Vipraj Nigam, Rohit dispatched an overpitched delivery over long-on for the six that took him to 51 maximums against Delhi Capitals — surpassing MS Dhoni’s Indian record of 50 sixes against Royal Challengers Bengaluru to become the Indian batter with the most sixes against any single IPL franchise.

Rohit finished with 35 off 26 balls — five fours and that one record-breaking six — before Axar Patel had him caught by Nitish Rana at cover. It is worth noting that the global record for sixes against a single team still belongs to Chris Gayle.

Why Hardik Pandya Missed the Match

In an unwelcome but increasingly familiar situation for MI, captain Hardik Pandya was unavailable — this time due to illness. Suryakumar Yadav, who had captained the side in the previous match for workload management reasons, stepped in again ahead of both Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah.

> “(News on Hardik) He’s not well, doesn’t look good, so he was left out.”

MI made no further comment on the nature of the illness or his expected return date.

DC’s Bowlers Dominated — Then Sameer Rizvi Sealed It

The DC bowling attack produced a disciplined effort on a surface where MI were expected to score freely. Mukesh Kumar was the pick of the pace bowlers, removing the in-form Ryan Rickelton with a good-length delivery early and then trapping Tilak Varma for a duck off the very next ball — leaving MI at 11 for 2 inside the powerplay.

Axar Patel was exceptional with the ball: 4 overs, 22 runs, one crucial wicket. The spinners tied MI down in the middle overs — Suryakumar and Naman Dhir’s 53-run partnership provided relief, but the innings never truly accelerated.

Bowler

Figures

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—

Mukesh Kumar

2/26

Axar Patel

1/22

Vipraj Nigam

1/24

T Natarajan

1/24

Lungi Ngidi

1/34

DC’s chase followed a similar template — two early wickets had MI hopeful, before Sameer Rizvi, introduced as an Impact Substitute, ended the contest. The young batter smashed 90 off 51 balls — seven fours, seven sixes — and took DC from nervy to comfortable. David Miller and Tristan Stubbs finished the job. DC won by six wickets in 18.1 overs, completing their second consecutive successful run chase.

DC Are Flying, MI Have Concerns

Delhi Capitals have started IPL 2026 with back-to-back wins, both achieved chasing. For Mumbai Indians, two matches in, the leadership situation has been anything but settled — Pandya missing again raises questions about how long MI can rely on Suryakumar to captain the side.