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KKR lost their first match of the IPL 2026 season against the Mumbai Indians who played at their home ground. The team set a target of 221 yet their bowlers failed to stop Rohit Sharma and his team as the five-time champions achieved victory through a last-over win during the high-scoring match.

Former Mumbai Indians captain Harbhajan Singh named skipper Ajinkya Rahane as the person who carried most of the blame for KKR's defeat.

Harbhajan Singh felt Rahane missed a key move by not using star spinner Sunil Narine during the powerplay. He pointed out that even two early overs from Narine could have created pressure on Mumbai's openers Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickelton.

The first statement shows Narine's failure to complete his four-over bowling requirement while Harbhajan used the opportunity to criticize Rahane's captaincy because he believed Rahane lacked essential leadership skills during decisive match situations. 

While talking on JioStar, he said :

“The best match-up was to bowl Sunil Narine in the powerplay, at least one or two overs to target Rohit Sharma early. That was their best chance to pick wickets and put Mumbai under pressure. Instead, Narine didn't even complete his full quota, which shows the captaincy wasn't up to the mark.”

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Harbhajan combined his recognition of Rohit Sharma's batting skills with his assessment of Ryan Rickelton's performance to develop a successful opening partnership for the batting chase. He observed that both batters demonstrated batting proficiency which prevented KKR's bowlers from establishing their rhythm. 

KKR achieved a first inning total of 220 runs for the loss of four wickets during their 20-over match when Rahane scored 67 runs off 40 balls to lead the team. Angkrish Raghuvanshi created a momentum surge with his explosive 51 runs which he scored from only 29 balls.

Mumbai Indians reached 80 runs without losing any wickets after they finished their powerplay. Rohit and Rickelton built a 148-run partnership for 11.5 overs before Narine entered the game after Rahane brought him in. 

The Mumbai Indians won their match with six wickets remaining because Tilak Varma and captain Hardik Pandya made short yet effective contributions that helped the team reach their target. 

Rahane will now look to correct his mistakes when KKR return for their next IPL 2026 clash. The team will compete against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their sixth match which will take place on Thursday April 2 at Eden Gardens under his guidance.