The much awaited IPL game day arrived and how. The champions had the honor of opening the 9th edition of the IPL with debutant Rising Pune Supergiants. The battle began with Rohit Sharma winning the toss and confidently electing to bat first.

Simmons came on strike with skipper Sharma at the crease which set the game going. As Sharma said in a recent interview, he intended to bag wins from the start which was quite evident from the first ball itself. However, this is what probably cost them the early wickets. In their attempt to make good on their intentions, they lost the essence of what they were trying accomplish altogether. By the time the power play was done, Mumbai Indians were at 37 runs and had already lost their Captain for just 7 Runs. Top tier batsmen Simmons, Pandya and Buttler went for single digit scores courtesy Ishant Sharma and Mitchell Marsh. It looked bleak for the Mumbai Indians but Rayudu was the cross bearer taking the team forward, scoring 22(27). Unfortunately, his dismissal came when Mumbai Indians needed him the most, soon after the mighty Pollard fell for 1(8). Shreyas Gopal followed suit and it was now up to the veteran Harbhajan to take charge & come to the team’s rescue. His breezy innings of 45*(30) was a visual treat as he took the team to a defendable score of 121 runs in his own flamboyant style.

It seemed like an impossible task to prevent the Rising Pune Supergiants from winning, but the Mumbai Indians did make an attempt. If only brownie points were won for making an attempt. The Rising Pune Supergiants spent no time playing it cool, they went straight for the win and going all guns blazing from the word go. The game didn’t seem like a battle against the opposition, with Bhajji grabbing the only wicket for Mumbai Indians. Rahane’s determination to win helped him to a Half-Century (first of Vivo IPL 2016), scoring 66* and taking his team through. Going by the past record it seems like a usual start for Mumbai Indians as they are known to comeback stronger after an early loss.