Rohit Sharma Unleashes 'Muscle Memory' for Pure T20 Batting in IPL 2026 Opener

He, who has now become a player competing in only one format in international cricket, looked in excellent form while hitting the fastest half-century of his IPL career against Kolkata Knight Riders.

‘Muscle Memory.’ When a batter who has spent years at the crease reacts instinctively to a ball without thinking about how to face it, this ‘muscle memory’ is activated.

In Rohit Sharma's case, this activates when he sees a short ball and turns his body to ‘pull’ it. This is a shot he has hit countless times in his career. 

Last night, during the run chase against Kolkata Knight Riders, the ball did not connect perfectly with the middle of the bat, but it didn't matter. The ball flew over the boundary via deep mid-wicket.

It had been 10 months since Rohit last played good T20 cricket. However, in the first match of his 19th IPL season, he did not look like a player out of form at all. Instead, he settled at the crease and reached another level. 

He maintained his dominance for Mumbai Indians right from the start. First, he hit an 87-meter six over deep mid-wicket with a pre-planned swing against Vaibhav Arora's ball. Then, against Blessing Muzarabani's ball, he stepped out of the crease, created space, and played a magnificent shot over extra cover.

But the batting against Varun Chakravarthy in the fifth over showcased Rohit's true control and dominance. He welcomed Varun with a lofted inside-out cover drive on the first ball, then bent down to play a beautiful shot over cover against a tossed-up ball outside off-stump. 

On the fourth ball of the over, he moved slightly across, got inside the line of the ball, and collected another boundary by flicking it over backward square leg. Varun, considered a clever bowler, was beaten here. Rohit scored just 15 runs in that over, which spectacularly overturned an old statistic: before this match, Rohit had faced 49 balls from Varun, scoring only 48 runs.

Rohit continued the same aggression in the next over. Again, the muscle memory kicked in, as he hit another six with an inside-out drive over extra cover against Kartik Tyagi's overpitched off-cutter. 

By the end of the powerplay, he had completed his half-century in just 23 balls, which was the fastest fifty of his IPL career. This earned him a roar of applause from his adoring home crowd. This was the first time in IPL history that he scored more than 50 runs within the powerplay.

These are shots that Rohit has played countless times over the years. However, looking at previous seasons (up to IPL 2024), it sometimes seemed like there was some control or restraint on these shots. Perhaps it was due to the responsibility of captaincy, the pressure to protect his wicket, or the traditional style of T20 cricket at that time. His overall strike rate reflects this change: his strike rate, which was 120.17 in 2022 and 132.8 in 2023, rose to 150 in 2024 and 149.28 in 2025.

This surge in strike rate was not achieved through discussions with management; rather, this new and aggressive version of his game is a natural evolution.

After the match, Mumbai Indians coach Mahela Jayawardene said, ‘He has freed himself. He is thinking very calmly now; he is not the captain anymore, so the pressure on him is less. This happens; it happened to me during the last few years of my career playing franchise cricket.’

‘You practice less, but your memory, your muscle memory works. And you play in that flow, understanding what the bowler is trying to do. When you reach that stage, you get the freedom that we have seen in Rohit for the last few years. We encourage him to do that, and the rest of the team is also supporting him, which makes me very happy.’

Although Rohit has played competitive cricket in only one format in the last year (recently in the ODI series against New Zealand), his preparation for the IPL was very meticulous and hardworking. This year, he reached the Mumbai camp early and spent a long time in the nets, where he faced Captain Hardik Pandya and many other fast bowlers. He practiced his big shots even in the practice session the day before the opening match. He has used the time away from international cricket to make himself fitter.

‘For the first time in many years, I have him from the first day of the camp; he played some very good match practice games,’ Jayawardene said. ‘We did a lot of simulations for him to get into rhythm, and I was very happy with the way he was hitting the ball... I think he batted brilliantly.’

Rohit hit shots all around the ground. The no-look inside-out six against Arora's ball was a special moment in his innings, where he effortlessly hit a full toss outside the off-stump over cover without looking. 

By the time his innings of 78 runs off 38 balls ended, he had already smashed many sixes on both sides of the wicket. And all this happened at Wankhede Stadium, a ground where he has now scored over 2500 runs in the IPL.

His Indian counterpart Virat Kohli, who has been presenting himself in a new and refreshed manner since the last IPL season, had also previously spoken about the power of muscle memory. 

To understand one's game so well that the art of hitting the ball becomes an instinctive tendency. Like Rohit, Kohli also started his 2026 campaign proving just that. 

Years of experience, preparation, and pure instinct coming together result in this pure and entertaining T20 batting.

ESPN Cricinfo