MI vs KKR: Ashwani Kumar's four-for on debut helps Mumbai Indians open account in IPL 2025
Cricket, Sports: Playing his first IPL game, Ashwani picked his maiden wicket on the first ball of his spell, later picking three more to complete 4/24 in 3 overs.
Former five-time winners Mumbai Indians (MI) have finally opened their account in the ongoing IPL 2025 with a thumping eight-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Monday at the Wankhede Stadium. New faces helped the hosts taste success for the first time in this edition, with seamer Ashwani Kumar picking a match-winning four-for on his IPL debut, and overseas opener Ryan Rickelton scored his maiden fifty for the franchise.
Mumbai won the toss and elected to bowl first, a fantastic call by captain Hardik Pandya. MI new-ball pacers picked four wickets inside the Powerplay, including one by the debutant Ashwani Kumar, who picked a wicket on his first ball in the IPL. KKR’s top order struggled against the moving ball, with Trent Boult and Deepak Chahar causing trouble up front.
Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Rinku Singh tried saving the sinking ship, failing to hold on for long, as Ashwani returned to tear into KKR’s lower order, including removing three dangerous batters in Rinku, Manish Pandey and all-rounder Andre Russell.
Mitchell Santner and MI’s rookie spinner Vignesh Puthur picked the remaining two wickets to wrap up KKR’s innings on a mere 116 inside 17 overs.
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"I was feeling really good. There was a little pressure earlier, but thanks to the atmosphere of the team, I didn't feel any pressure," Ashwani, 23, said during the mid-innings.
Rickelton, the hero with the bat
Although Rohit Sharma’s dismal run with the bat continued as he got out early inside the Powerplay on 13, his opening partner, Ryan Rickelton, repaid his team’s faith with a match-winning unbeaten 62 off 41 balls, including five sixes and four fours.
The left-handed opener finally came good for the franchise after moderate outings in his previous two matches.
His 46-run stand with Rohit had Mumbai going; however, Will Jacks providing support at the other end following Rohit’s departure allowed Ryan to free his arms and take on KKR’s bowling attack. His two sixes to veteran spinner Sunil Narine was the highlight.
Ace T20 batter Suryakumar Yadav put on the final touches, hitting an unbeaten 27 off nine balls, including two sixes and three fours; Mumbai completed the chase with over seven overs and eight wickets remaining.
