Mumbai Indians (MI) secured their first victory of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season emphatically, defeating Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by eight wickets at the Wankhede Stadium.
The home side won the toss and elected to field first, a decision that proved immediately fruitful. MI made three changes to their lineup, bringing in Will Jacks and Vignesh Puthur, and handing a debut to young left-arm pacer, Ashwani Kumar. KKR made one change, with Sunil Narine replacing Mooen Ali.
MI’s bowlers came out firing, setting a blistering tone in the powerplay. Trent Boult dismissed Narine for a duck in the first over, and Deepak Chahar followed suit by removing Quinton de Kock in the next. The Knight Riders found themselves reeling at two wickets down with just two runs on the board. The dream start continued for Mumbai as debutant Ashwani Kumar entered the attack and struck gold with his first delivery, sending Ajinkya Rahane back to the pavilion. KKR struggled to find momentum, with Venkatesh Iyer surviving a dropped catch by Mitchell Santner and Ashwani himself. But the third time wasn’t lucky for Iyer, as he eventually fell to Chahar, leaving KKR in deep trouble. The powerplay concluded with KKR at a dismal 41 runs for four wickets, the lowest first-innings powerplay total in IPL 2025 so far.
The pressure didn’t relent after the powerplay. Hardik Pandya removed Angkrish Raghuvanshi for 26, and KKR introduced Manish Pandey as their Impact Sub. Vignesh Puthur endured some punishment, conceding sixes to Pandey and Rinku Singh. Santner bowled a tight over to stem the flow of runs temporarily, but Ashwani returned for his second spell and dismissed the dangerous Rinku. Ashwani continued his sensational debut, bowling out Pandey to claim his third wicket.
Kolkata Knight Riders were eventually bowled out for a paltry 116. The star of the show was undoubtedly Ashwani, who became the first Indian bowler to take a four-wicket haul on his IPL debut, finishing with remarkable figures of 4/24. This marked the 10th time KKR has been bowled out for a sub-120 score in the IPL, with an astonishing six of those instances coming against Mumbai Indians.
In response, Mumbai Indians began their chase aggressively. Despite a tidy first over from Spencer Johnson, where he conceded just one run, Harshit Rana was expensive in his opening over, leaking 14 runs. Ryan Rickelton got into his stride quickly, smashing a flurry of boundaries. While Varun Chakaravarthy started with a miserly two-run over, Andre Russell struck in his first over, dismissing Rohit Sharma for another low score.
Rickelton (62*) continued his blistering assault after surviving a couple of tricky overs against the new ball. Jacks (16) and Suryakumar Yadav (27*) joined the party, providing the finishing touches to a dominant chase. In the process, SKY reached a significant milestone, becoming the fifth Indian to score 8000 runs in T20 cricket, achieving the feat in fewer innings than any other Indian batsman.
Mumbai Indians completed the run chase with ease, securing a massive victory with over seven overs to spare. This win further solidified Mumbai’s dominance over Kolkata Knight Riders, setting new records: the most win against an opponent at a venue in the IPL (10 – MI vs KKR at Wankhede) and the most wins against a single team in the IPL (24 – MI vs KKR).
The Player of the Match was deservingly awarded to Ashwani Kumar for his outstanding bowling performance of 4/24. It was a day the 23-year-old left-arm pacer will cherish forever, scripting a memorable debut and playing a pivotal role in Mumbai Indians’ emphatic comeback after two consecutive losses. This victory provides a significant boost to MI as they begin their home campaign in style.
Scorecard:
Kolkata Knight Riders: 116/10, Overs 16.2, Angkrish Raghuvanshi 26, Ashwani Kumar 4/24
Mumbai Indians: 121/2, Overs 12.5, Ryan Rickelton 62*, Andre Russell 2/35
