Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya pointed out the positive contribution of the scouts after not only winning the first Indian Premier League 2025 game but also finding a new fast bowler in Ashwani Kumar.
Mumbai Indians beat Kolkata Knight Riders by eight wickets at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday. MI’s decision to pick the field first after winning the toss worked well.
Left-arm pacer Ashwani took four wickets for 24 runs in three wickets.
Along with Deepak Chahar taking two wickets, Ashwani broke the back of KKR. As a result, they did add only 116 runs in 16.2 overs.
MI came to bat and chased the total in 12.5 overs, winning the game by eight wickets.
Ryan Rickelton did play well from the very start. His contribution of 63 runs and Suryakumar Yadav’s impactful 27 runs made MI win a crucial game at home.
However, Rohit Sharma flopped again and added just 13 runs. Will Jacks did add 16 runs only, but he made a decent partnership with Rickelton in chasing the small total.
Both KKR and MI have lost two of their opening three games. However, the latest victory must have given a positive boost to the home side.
After winning the game, Pandya hailed MI selection professionals.
He said: “We thought Ashwani can come in on this pitch and bowl the way he bowled. It is all the 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.”
KKR Vs MI IPL 2025 Scorecard Summery (31 March 2025)
Player of the Match
Ashwani Kumar (MI) 4/24 (3)
KKR · 116 (16.2)
Angkrish Raghuvanshi
26 (16) Ashwani Kumar
4/24 (3) Ramandeep Singh
22 (12) Deepak Chahar
2/19 (2) Manish Pandey
19 (14) Hardik Pandya
1/10 (2)
MI · 121/2 (12.5)
Riyan Rickelton
62* (41) Andre Russell
2/35 (2.5) SuryaKumar Yadav
27* (9) Varun Chakarvarthy
0/12 (3) Will Jacks
16 (17) Spencer Jhonson
0/14 (2)
Toss: MI won the toss and decided to bowl
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