Ashwani Kumar's record four wicket-haul on IPL debut and doubled that with Ryan Rickelton's blistering 62 not out helped Mumbai Indians to a commanding eight-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday. (Match Blog | Full Coverage)
Earlier, Hardik Pandya won the toss and had opted to bowl against KKR after losing their opening two games in the IPL 2025. 23-year-old Ashwani delivered the ideal performance with the ball as he became the first Indian to to take four wickets on debut as with figures of 3-0-24-4.
In the batting department, Rohit Sharma (13) endured another forgettable outing, but Ryan Rickelton (62 not out off 41 balls) made his first impact on the IPL stage as Mumbai Indians went over the line with 7.1 overs to spare. Suryakumar Yadav hit a quick 9-ball 27 not out and ended the game with a six behind the wicket
This was Mumbai Indians' first win in the tournament and KKR's second defeat in the tournament.
Check Playing XIs:
Kolkata Knight Riders XI: Quinton de Kock(w), Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Spencer Johnson, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy
Mumbai Indians XI: Ryan Rickelton, Will Jacks(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Ashwani Kumar, Vignesh Puthur
Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders, IPL 2025: Captain Speak
Hardik Pandya: We gonna bowl first, looks like a good track. Knowing Wankhede, dew may or may not come in. There might be some early swing, it plays well so we thought chasing is a good option. We want to get into good rhythm and kickstart. Overall, we want to play better cricket, we need to stay calm. Will Jacks comes back and we have a debutant - Ashwani Kumar.
Ajinkya Rahane: We wanted to bowl first as well but I was confused looking at the wicket, generally Wankede is a good batting surface so I feel it's a good toss to lose. There's a little breeze going on, no dew factor to deal with. We will look to post a good total on the board and I have confidence in our bowlers to defend. We are playing good cricket, every games gives a good opportunity to play good cricket. Lovely ground, we are looking to play good cricket. Sunil comes in in place of Moeen.
(with PTI inputs)
