Kumar wears an outstanding bowling display and became the first Indian player to win four wickets in his IPL debut.
A sparkling debut performance by medium-pacer Ashwani Kumar powered up with a single banana, with the Mumbai Indians registering their first victory of the Indian Premier League (IPL) season, defeating the Kolkata Knight Rider with eight wickets.
Due to Kumar’s stunning, but very unexpected four wickets, the very unexpected effort for 24 runs, coupled with the overall disciplined bowling performance by the home team, limited champion Kolkata to a modest total of 116.
The 23-year-old took the key wickets of Kolkata captains Ajinkia Rahane, Linkyu Singh, Manish Pandi and the powerful Andre Russell.
“There was nothing for lunch. There was bananas. There was a bit of pressure. I wasn’t hungry,” Kumar said.
“Even so, I played well, so that’s a good thing.
“[Captain] Hardik Pandya said he’s having fun because it’s your debut match. Keep bowling like you did,” he added.
Pandya said credits for his bowler’s impressive debut should go to the extensive Mumbai scouting network.
“We thought Ashwani could come on this pitch and bowl the way he bowled. It’s all scouts – they chose him,” Pandia said.
“They went all the way and chose these young kids. We played a practice game. He had that zip, that slow swing, something from the wicket, something else, and he was the left.”
Following Kumar’s exploit on the ball, South African wicketkeeper Ryan Rickelton led the Mumbai run chase at Wankhede Stadium, earning 41 balls of quick 62 balls in five mixed six innings.
T20 specialist Suryakumar Yadav’s Quick Fire 27 guaranteed Mumbai sealed a victory over Kolkata in the first home IPL match of the year from just nine balls.
Second from the right, Ashwani Kumar from Mumbai celebrates with his teammates after taking the wicket of Andre Russell in Kolkata at Wanquede Stadium in Mumbai on March 31, 2025 [Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters]
