On Monday, March 31, at Mumbai’s famous Wankhede Stadium, the Mumbai Indians (MI) hosted the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Match 12 of the current IPL 2025. Hardik Pandya, the captain, invited the visitors to bat first after winning the toss.
Pandya stated during the toss that the surface was promising and that it might get more difficult to bowl for the opposition in the evening. The MI captain therefore thought that pursuit made perfect sense. Rahane, however, claimed that he was unclear of the pitch and that, thus, losing the toss would be advantageous because, should KKR manage to score a respectable total, they might be able to take advantage of the sea breeze, which helps the pacers move the ball and makes it difficult for the batsmen pursuing the target. However, it was not a good day for Kolkata.
Talking Points
1. Mumbai destroys Kolkata for a pitiful sum.
Mumbai made the right choice as the KKR hitters faltered and were hit with early blows, including the removal of important players like Venkatesh Iyer and Quinton de Kock. They were consequently left reeling at 59/5 after eight overs. Manish Pandey and Rinku Singh made every effort to score runs towards the end of the innings. But in the end, KKR was dismissed for a pitiful 116 runs.
2. The ideal IPL debut of debutant Ashwani Kumar for MI
Ashwani Kumar, a left-arm bowler making his debut, was the day’s standout and gave the Mumbai Indians a historic performance. From the first ball of his IPL career, he was spot on, and he ended up taking an incredible four wickets (4/24) against the Kolkata-based team. Amazingly, he took out opposition skipper Ajinkya Rahane with his first IPL ball, making him his first wicket. Along with Rahane, Ashwani also claimed the scalps of well-known players like Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, and Manish Pandey.
3. MI ends its IPL 2025 losing skid with Rickelton’s stunning knock
In the run chase, the hosts came out firing. While Rohit Sharma’s bad record persisted with 13 off 12 balls, Ryan Rickelton, his other opener, hammered the Kolkata Knight Riders with a scorching unbeaten 62 off 41 balls. Notably, he hit four boundaries and five sixes in his furious knock. Both of MI’s wickets were taken by all-rounder Andre Russell, but the score was nearly at 100 when Will Jacks was removed. Rickelton and Suryakumar Yadav (27* off 9 balls) ultimately finished the formalities, giving the Mumbai Indians a commanding eight-wicket victory with forty-three balls remaining. MI’s losing streak in the current IPL 2025 season was eventually broken with this victory.
Regarding the outcome of the Wankhede IPL opener, the captains and POTM (Player of the Match) had the following to say:
Who Said What?
Hardik Pandya, MI (Winning captain) said,
Very satisfying. To win, especially at home and the way we did it as a group – everyone chipped in, cannot be happier. It is always a challenge of picking one guy here or there. Our team is sorted with the players we are backing and the players we have. We thought Ashwani can come in (on this pitch) and bowl the way he bowled. It is all scouts – they picked him. They have gone to all the places and picked these young kids. We played a practice game, he had that zip, that late swing, something off the wicket, a different action and he was a leftie.
We just backed him and the way he took that wicket of Russell was a very crucial wicket, and how he started with the catch of de Kock, it was terrific to see (a fast bowler jumping up to take it). When it goes my way, it looks good. But the kind of team we have, we have a lot of young and experienced players combined and I do not have to worry much. Early start, but a great sign for everyone to chip in and kick off the tournament for us.
Ajinkya Rahane, KKR (Losing captain) said,
Collective batting failure. It was a good wicket bat on as I mentioned in the toss. 180-190 would have been good on this wicket. It has a very good bounce. Sometimes you have to use the pace and bounce. We got to learn really fast from this game. Couldn’t much with the ball. They tried their best. But not much runs on the board. We kept on losing wickets. Four wickets in the powerplay. It was difficult to consolidate and get that total on the board. You need that partnership going. You need one batsman to stay till the end.
Ashwani Kumar, Player of the Match said,
It is a big thing for me that I got this opportunity and that I am getting this award. Never thought about this, just did my process and happy (to get this award). I am from Jhanjheri in Mohali district – to come from there to here, that is the result of my hard work and by god’s grace I am here. I was confident, but I was a little nervous as well, thinking about what will happen. (On his message to his people back home) I want to make all of you feel proud in the upcoming games.
India
