Mumbai, March 31 (IANS) Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya was very satisfied with his team claiming its first points in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 after starting with two defeats, with an eight-wicket win against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium here on Monday.
“Very satisfying. To win, especially at home and the way we did it as a group – everyone chipped in, cannot be happier,” said Pandya in the post-match presentation.
Pandya also explained the rationale behind picking an unknown, inexperienced bowler for their first home game of the season and gave credit to the talent scouts of the franchise who unearthed gems Ashwani Kumar and Vignesh Puthur.
Ashwani claimed 4-24 on his IPL debut, bagging the best figures by an Indian bowler on his IPL debut. With the 23-year-old destroying the KKR middle order by claiming the wickets of Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh, Manish Pandey and Andre Russell and Deepak Chahar bagging, Mumbai Indians bundled out KKR for 116 in 16.2 overs and then chased the target in double quick time with Ryan Rickelton smashing an unbeaten 62.
“It is always a challenge to pick one guy here or there. Our team is sorted with the players we are backing and the players we have. We thought Ashwani could 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,” said Pandya.
He said they realised Ashwani’s potential after he did well in an intra-team practice match.
“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),” said the Mumbai Indians skipper who was facing the heat after the team made another poor start in the IPL.
Pandya said things fell for him as the players combined well. After opting to bowl first, Pandya rotated his bowlers superbly, giving them short spells which did not allow the Kolkata batters to settle down. His bowlers too responded well as Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar started the collapse, and Vignesh Puthur and Mitchell Santner wrapped up things.
“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,” he said.
Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinkya Rahane said his team suffered from a collective batting failure. He said 180-190 could have been a very good total on this wicket. He said his batters tried to attack to counter the bounce, but they could not pull it off.
“Collective batting failure, it was a good wicket to bat on, 180-190 would have been a good total on this pitch. We expect that (here), it has a good bounce. When you are fighting against the bounce, that is what we did, you have to use it sometimes – we have to learn fast,” he said.
Rahane said losing four wickets in the power-play did them in.
“Bowlers were trying their best, but not many runs on the board. We kept on losing wickets – four in the powerplay and after that, it was difficult to consolidate. You need one batter to bat through and stay till the end, but that did not happen,” he concluded.
Mumbai Indians will now travel to Lucknow for their next match against Lucknow Super Giants on April 4, while KKR will return home for a match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 3.
–IANS
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