Mumbai Indians won their first match of IPL 2025 by defeating Kolkata Knight Riders by 8 wickets. But one player that left his mark and was the star of the show was 23-year old pacer Ashwani Kumar who dismissed key players like Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell and Manish Pandey. His dominating spell completely crushed KKR leaving them all out on the mere score of 116.
Ashwani Kumar Becomes The Game-Changer For MI
After the match, MI skipper Hardik Pandya heaped huge praise for Ashwani and credited MI’s scouting team for bringing such talents in spotlight. He revealed that the left-arm pacer impressed both the team and management in practice sessions. Pandya mentioned about his catch to dismiss Quniton de Kock and the crucial wicket of Andre Russell as the ultimate game-changer for MI.
MI Identified The Ashwani Kumar’s Potential
“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,” Hardik said in the post-match presentation.
Andre Russell’s Wicket: The Most Crucial One
“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 off the tournament for us,” he added.
