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Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya is thrilled with his team's first win of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, which came against the defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Wankhede cricket stadium in Mumbai on Monday, March 31.
Hardik Pandya lauds Ashwani Kumar after MI thrashed KKR
During the post-match presentation, Hardik Pandya lauded Mumbai Indians' all-round show, emphasising the collaborative effort that contributed to the much-needed win. He specifically highlighted the team's overall depth and the selection of debutant Ashwani Kumar, giving credit to the Mumbai Indians' scouting network for recognising his talent. Pandya lauded Ashwani's top-notch bowling and revealed the crucial wicket which he thinks was the turning point of the match. the 23-year-old pacer from Punjab had a dream debut in which he took a brilliant four-wicket haul to become the first Indian bowler to take a four-fer on the first match of the glitzy league. In his tremendous spell of 4/24, Ashwani took the key wickets of Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh, Manish Pandey and Andre Russell. Hardik said the way Ashwani took that wicket of Russell was a very crucial for the team. Ashwani was hence adjudged the player of the match for his stunning bowling.
"Very satisfying to win, especially at home. The way we did it, as a group, everyone chipped in - can't be happier. It's always a challenge of picking one guy here and there. With our team it's pretty sorted with the players who we are backing. This wicket just offered a bit more and we thought Ashwani can come in and bowl the way he bowled. First of all, it's all because of the scouts. All MI scouts have gone all the places and picked these young kids. We played a practice game and it looked like he had that zip and late swing, had a different action and plus he is a leftie. The way he took that wicket of Russell was a very crucial wicket. And especially, how he started with that catch of Quinton. Was great to see a fast bowler jumping that high. As I mentioned earlier, it's a great sign for everyone to chip in and kick of the tournament for us," Pandya said in the post-match presentation.
After suffering back-to-back defeats against CSK and GT, MI finally returned to the winning ways. After their bowlers restricted KKR to a modest total of just 116 runs, MI chased down the target of 117 in just 12.5 overs. The chase was spearheaded by a fine half-century from Ryan Rickelton (41-ball 62) and a quickfire cameo from Suryakumar Yadav (9-ball 27). This match also marked an impressive IPL debut for 23-year-old fast bowler Ashwini Kumar, who made an immediate impact by taking four wickets, including the prized scalp of Ajinkya Rahane with his very first delivery in the league.
Mumbai will now take on Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on April 4 while KKR's next match is against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on April 3.
