Mumbai Indians' in-form batter Ryan Rickelton, who has quietly become the heartbeat of Mumbai Indians in the 2026 season of the Indian Premier League, delivered a breezy performance to help MI beat LSG in a must-win game on Monday at Wankhede Stadium. His performance against LSG truly encapsulated his value. Chasing a challenging 229 against Lucknow Super Giants, Rickelton fired a breathtaking 83 off 32 balls. One of the defining features of Rickelton’s success has been his partnerships with Rohit Sharma. Their explosive partnership of 143 against LSG showed their class. Rohit, who scored 84 off 44 runs, guided the chase brilliantly. while Rickelton counterattacked aggressively. After the match, Rickelton pointed to “chemistry” as the cornerstone of their success.

"I think Rohit is just really good; that's the chemistry right there. Obviously nice to get up there again with him; he's obviously been on the sideline for a bit, and to see him come back and play the way he did, so free-flowing, is something quite unique. I think we just complement each other really nicely as a left-hand, right-hand," Ryan said at the press conference.

"We complement each other quite nicely. Sometimes he gets away really quickly and takes a lot of pressure off me, and sometimes I get away quickly and take a lot of pressure off him. So that was probably tonight, but I got away, and coming back from five or six games, he gave himself a few balls to just get back to batting again in his routines, and then obviously transferring that pressure onto the bowlers, and it is a dream to watch. He gets some shots that I could only have in my wildest dreams. But when he is in full flow, you know, it's a treat that he takes the pressure off you, so I do enjoy it."

Both batters missed out on centuries, but their partnership laid the foundation for MI's rollicking win. Overall, having batted together 18 times, Rohit and Rickelton have amassed 825 runs. 

"Probably picked his brain a little bit more first year, just about batting in general, not necessarily T20 batting - Tests and 50-over batting and the specifics of the mentality around it. I think he's just a little different, like I said, he's one of the greatest to play the game. And it's never always life-changing advice that you get. It's stuff that you've heard through different paths as you kind of work your way through the game."

"It's just more how he manages pressure, how he stays calm and how he backs his ability and understands his game really well. Like I said so, it's always really cool to be going out there to bat with one of India's greatest, and hopefully I can continue to do it for some time to come."