MI vs KKR: Ashwani Kumar scripts history for Mumbai Indians, becomes first Indian to scalp four wickets on IPL debut
Ashwani Kumar dismissed Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell and Manish Pandey on his IPL debut for Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium.
Ashwani Kumar scripted history in his first-ever game for Mumbai Indians as the 23-year-old became the first Indian pacer to take four wickets on an Indian Premier League (IPL) debut. Replacing ndhra Pradesh pacer Satyanarayana Raju in the playing XI, Ashwani Kumar couldn't had asked for a better start to his career as he dismissed Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Ajinkya Rahane on his first ball.
He later went on to dismiss Rinku Singh, Andre Russell and Manish Pandey to finish with 4/24 in his three overs. Only three bowlers - Alzaari Joseph (6/12, Mumbai Indians), Andrew Tye (5/17, Gujarat Lions) and Shoaib Akhtar (4/11, Kolkata Knight Riders) - have take four or more wickets on IPL debut before Ashwani Kumar.
Notably, Ashwani Kumar has only played four senior T20 matches prior to his IPL debut, in addition to two Ranji Trophy and four List A matches. In fact, this was the first time, ever that Ashwani Kumar has picked four wickets in a match. His previous best was 3/37 in List A cricket and 1/19 in T20 cricket.
Players with 4 or more wickets on IPL debut
| Player | Wickets | Against | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alzaarri Joseph (Mumbai Indians) | 6/12 | SRH | 2019 | |
| Andrew Tye (Gujarat Lions) | 5/17 | RPS | 2017 | |
| Shoaib Akhtar (KKR) | 4/11 | DD | 2008 | |
| Ashwani Kumar (Mumbai Indians) | 4/24 | KKR | 2025 | |
| Keevon Copper (Rajasthan Royals) | 4/26 | KXIP | 2012 | |
| David Wiese (RCB) | 4/33 | MI | 2015 |
Kolkata Knight Riders bundled out for 116
Caught off-guard by Ashwani Kumar's dream debut, defending champions KKR were bowled out for mere 116 in 16.2 overs for the lowest score of this season. Deepak Chahar (2/19), Trent Boult (1/23), Hardik Pandya (1/10), Vignesh Puthur (1/21) and Mitchell Santner (1/17) also took wickets for Mumbai Indians.
Angkrish Raghuvanshi (26) and Ramandeep Singh (22) were the top scorers for KKR. On a fresh Wankhede Stadium pitch which offered bounce and swing with the new ball, Mumbai Indians bowlers capitalised on lack of application shown by KKR batters to take four wickets inside the powerplay.
Best bowling figures by an Indian on IPL debut
| Player | Wickets | Against | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashwani Kumar (Mumbai Indians) | 4/25 | KKR | 2025 |
| Amit Singh (Rajasthan Royals ) | 3/9 | KXIP | 2009 |
| Vijaykumar Vyshak (RCB) | 3/20 | DC | 2023 |
| Sandeep Sharma (Kings XI Punjab) | 3/21 | SRH | 2013 |
Even then, none of the KKR batters felt wise to play according to the situation and went for big hits quite often.
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