Debutant Ashwani Kumar’s fiery 4-wicket haul and Ryan Rickelton’s explosive 62* lead Mumbai Indians to a dominant victory at Wankhede, breaking their losing streak against Kolkata Knight Riders.
Mumbai, April 1: Mumbai Indians roared back into form in the IPL 2025 with a commanding eight-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium. A debut to remember for pacer Ashwani Kumar, who ripped through the KKR batting order with figures of 4/24, and a match-winning 62 off 41 balls by Ryan Rickelton* sealed MI’s first win of the season in emphatic fashion.
After losing back-to-back games to KKR last season, MI made a bold statement with this clinical performance, wrapping up the 117-run chase in just 12.5 overs.
🔥 Bowling Brilliance: Ashwani Kumar’s Impactful Debut
The 12th match of the IPL saw the emergence of Ashwani Kumar, who made a sensational debut by dismantling the KKR middle order. His scalps included Rinku Singh, Manish Pandey, Andre Russell, and Ajinkya Rahane.
Deepak Chahar (2/19) and Trent Boult (1/23) provided early breakthroughs, reducing KKR to 2/2 inside two overs. MI skipper Hardik Pandya and Mitchell Santner also chipped in as Kolkata was bundled out for 116 in just 18.2 overs.
🏏 Chase Masterclass: Rickelton & SKY Take Charge
In reply, MI openers Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickelton stitched a solid 46-run stand before Rohit fell to Andre Russell (2/35). Rickelton, however, continued in aggressive fashion, smashing 4 fours and 5 sixes en route to his unbeaten 62.
Will Jacks added 16, while Suryakumar Yadav made short work of the remaining runs with a blazing 27 off 9 balls*, including a six and three fours, finishing the game with four overs to spare.
🧊 KKR Falter Again
Despite Russell’s two wickets, KKR looked off-colour with both bat and ball. Sunil Narine, dismissed for a duck and ineffective with the ball (0/32), had a forgettable outing. Apart from Angkrish Raghuvanshi (26) and Ramandeep Singh (22), the KKR batting crumbled under pressure.
📊 Brief Scores:
KKR: 116 all out (Angkrish Raghuvanshi 26, Ramandeep Singh 22; Ashwani Kumar 4/24, Deepak Chahar 2/19)
MI: 121/2 in 12.5 overs (Ryan Rickelton 62*, Suryakumar Yadav 27*; Andre Russell 2/35)
Mumbai now head into their next fixture with renewed momentum, while KKR will look to regroup after another lacklustre performance. With Ashwani Kumar’s dream debut and Rickelton’s fireworks, MI fans will be hoping this marks the start of a winning run.
