MUMBAI: It took the 'Hitman' to keep Mumbai Indians' slender hopes alive of making it to the playoffs. Returning from a hamstring injury that sidelined him for five matches, Rohit Sharma led the charge with a vintage 84 off 44 balls as MI beat Lucknow Super Giants by six wickets in a run-fest at the Wankhede on Monday.
Amid chants of 'Rohit, Rohit', the 39-year-old, playing as an Impact Player, rolled back the years, smashing six sixes and seven fours in a commanding knock. Alongside the in-form Ryan Rickelton (83 off 32; 6x4, 8x6), Rohit powered MI to a daunting 229 chase, handing the hosts just their third win of IPL 2026.
The 'R & R' duo all but sealed the game with a blistering 143-run opening stand off just 65 balls. Naman Dhir (23* off 12) and Will Jacks (10* off 4) then finished the job with ease, the latter sealing it with a straight six off Avesh Khan.
MI were dealt a blow before the start, with skipper Hardik Pandya ruled out due to back spasms, leaving Suryakumar Yadav to lead the franchise. The result kept MI's slim hopes alive while LSG slumped to a sixth straight defeat, effectively ending their playoff chances.
Rickelton, fresh from a 123* in MI's previous home game, continued his purple patch on a flat surface, racing to a 22-ball fifty. Rohit matched him stroke for stroke, taking down Mohsin Khan with two fours and two sixes in one over, and then lofting Mohammed Shami. His fifty came off 26 balls, bringing up MI's 100 in 8.1 overs.
MI cruised to 71/0 in the Powerplay and took 23 off Manimaran Siddharth in the ninth over. Rohit eventually fell to Siddharth, mistiming a sweep to short fine leg, but by then the equation was down to 52 off 37, a formality on a Wankhede deck that offered nothing to the bowlers.
Earlier, Nicholas Pooran finally broke his slump emphatically, hammering 63 off 21 balls (8x6) after managing just 82 runs in his first eight games. His 16-ball fifty set the tone as LSG surged to 90/1 in six overs, their best Powerplay this season.
Mitchell Marsh (44 off 25) also found rhythm, and his 94-run stand with Pooran off 35 balls left MI on the ropes. However, the hosts pulled things back with four wickets for 37 runs in 20 balls, including the dismissal of a struggling Rishabh Pant (15) off Jacks.
A late 68-run unbeaten stand between Himmat Singh (40* off 31) and Aiden Markram (31* off 25) lifted LSG to 228/5 after being put in. It was their first 200-plus total this season, powered by 16 sixes — half of them from Pooran.
MI's Jasprit Bumrah, though, endured another forgettable outing. He struggled for rhythm and finished with unflattering figures of 0/45, including three no-balls and two wides. His second over cost 21 runs. Among the few positives, spinner Raghu Sharma returned figures of 1/36 in four tidy overs, while Deepak Chahar did well to concede just six runs in the final over to prevent further damage.
