MUMBAI INDIANS secured their first win of the IPL season on Monday, defeating Kolkata Knight Riders by eight wickets, with debutant medium pacer Ashwani Kumar playing a key role.
Kumar’s 4-24 helped restrict Kolkata to 116, which Mumbai chased down comfortably with more than seven overs to spare.
The 23-year-old dismissed Kolkata captain Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh, Manish Pandey, and Andre Russell in an impressive spell.
"I didn't have anything for lunch, I just had a banana. There was a little pressure. I wasn't feeling hungry," said Kumar.
"But still, I played well, so it's good.
"(Captain) Hardik Pandya said that since it's your debut match, enjoy yourself. Just keep bowling the way you have been," he added.
Pandya credited Mumbai’s scouting team for unearthing Kumar.
"We thought Ashwani can come in on this pitch and bowl the way he bowled. It is all the scouts – they picked him," Pandya said.
"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."
Ryan Rickelton led Mumbai's chase with 62 off 41 balls, hitting five sixes.
Playing their first home match of the year, Mumbai made an early impact as Trent Boult dismissed Sunil Narine in the first over.
Kolkata’s batting struggles
Narine’s opening partner, Quinton de Kock, was caught trying to loft Deepak Chahar. Rahane followed soon after, slicing a wide delivery from Kumar to deep backward point for 11 off seven balls.
Venkatesh Iyer struggled for three runs off nine balls, while Angkrish Raghuvanshi’s fluent 26 ended before he could build on it, leaving Kolkata at 45-5 in seven overs.
Manish Pandey (19 off 14) and Rinku Singh (17 off 14) provided brief resistance, but Kolkata never recovered.
Ramandeep Singh’s 22 off 12 helped push the total past 100 before the innings ended in the 17th over.
"Collective batting failure, it was a good wicket to bat on, and 180-190 would have been a good total on this pitch," said Kolkata skipper Ajinkya Rahane.
Mumbai’s chase
Mumbai started quickly but lost Rohit Sharma for 13 off 12 balls.
England allrounder Will Jacks, replacing Sharma, pulled his second ball for six, dashing any Kolkata comeback hopes.
Jacks (16 off 17) and Rickelton put on 45 runs, bringing Mumbai close to victory.
Suryakumar Yadav’s 27 off nine balls ensured they reached the target with ease.
(With inputs from AFP)
