Ashwani Kumar made his first appearance in the Indian Premier League against the Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday at the Wankhede Stadium.
Not only Ashwani did shine with his bowling, but his four wickets against KKR helped MI to win their first game in the IPL 2025 by eight wickets.
After winning the toss, and electing to field first, MI bowlers restricted the defending champions to not score big.
Ajinkya Rahane’s side lost all their wickets in 16.2 overs, adding just 116 runs.
Other than Ashwani, Deepak Chahar also contributed well. The former CSK bowler took two wickets for 19 runs in two overs.
Rohit Sharma, who came as an impact player, only managed to add 13 runs in 12 deliveries. But Rohit’s opening partner Ryan Rickelton played an unbeaten knock of 62 runs in 41 balls. After Rohit’s dismissal, Ryan made a partnership with Will Jacks (scored 16 runs) and then finished things in style as Suryakumar Yadav added a quick 27-run-unbeaten impact in just 9 balls.
This helped MI win their first game of the present IPL season.
After leading MI well in his debut, Ashwani credits captain Hardik Pandya for giving him confidence.
He said: “Hardik Pandya said that since it’s your debut match, enjoy yourself. Just keep bowling the way you have been.”
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