It was a dream debut for Ashwani Kumar as MI claimed a big win at home to get their campaign up and running.
Ashwani, Rickelton lead Mumbai Indians to first IPL 2025 win
Mumbai Indians beat Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday, collecting their first points of the 2025 IPL thanks to standout efforts by debutant Ashwani Kumar and South African import Ryan Rickelton.
MI came into the clash as -138.89 favourites across cricket betting sites despite having dropped their first two matches of the season.
They opted to bowl first and quickly had KKR on the back foot with a pair of wickets in the opening seven balls.
With Quinton de Kock (1 from 3) and Sunil Narine (0 from 2) back in the sheds, Kolkata struggled with the pace of Mumbai over the remainder of the powerplay.
Ajinkya Rahane (11 from 7) and Venkatesh Iyer (3 from 9) fell early as well, leaving KKR at 45/5 when Angkrish Raghuvanshi (26 from 16) departed in the seventh over.
Matters did not improve for the visitors when 23-year-old pacer Ashwani ripped through their middle order, taking 4/24 from his four overs.
Just Ramandeep Singh (22 from 12) put up any measure of resistance as KKR were dismissed for 116 in the 17th over.
In response, MI executed a near-flawless chase, with Rickelton’s 62 not out from 41 balls the centrepiece.
Rohit Sharma (13 from 12) played second fiddle before toeing through to mid-off, as did Will Jacks (16 from 17), who was well caught by Rahane at extra cover.
Suryakumar Yadav was not content to let Rickelton have all the fun, however, crushing 27 from just nine balls as MI chased down KKR’s target with eight wickets and 43 balls to spare.
“Very satisfying to win, especially at home and the way we did it as a group,” MI captain Hardik Pandya said after the match.
“Everyone chipped in, cannot be happier.
“A great sign for everyone to chip in and kick off the tournament for us.”
The victory takes Mumbai to sixth on the IPL ladder and the second line of outright betting at leading bookmakers, where they are paying +500 for the title.
IPL betting sites have Royal Challengers Bengaluru — who are two from two this season — as +400 favourites to lift the trophy.
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