Mumbai Indians Dominate with Both Ball and Bat at Wankhede
If you thought you needed seasoned stars to shake up an IPL match, think again. Mumbai Indians unleashed debutant Ashwani Kumar, who turned heads by tearing through the Kolkata Knight Riders batting lineup in Match 12 of IPL 2025. The Wankhede crowd barely settled into their seats before wickets tumbled and MI seized control.
Ashwani’s figures—4 for 24 in his first IPL game—felt more like the numbers of a seasoned IPL pro. Driven by clever changes of pace and sharp lines, he caught Kolkata completely off guard. Early on, Trent Boult and Deepak Chahar got the ball rolling. Boult set the tone by snaring Sunil Narine for a duck in the very first over, and Chahar quickly sent Quinton de Kock back to the dugout for just a single. With KKR wobbling at 1 for 2 in the blink of an eye, the visitors never really recovered.
The rest of the innings was a stop-start affair. Venkatesh Iyer managed to put up 17 runs, hinting at a fightback, and Ajinkya Rahane’s 25 gave a flicker of hope, but Ashwani swatted away the KKR middle order. From 40 for 4, there was no return for Kolkata. They eventually crawled to 116 all out—far below par at a venue known for high totals.
Ryan Rickelton Anchors the Chase; MI Flex Their Depth
You’d expect nerves chasing a total on Wankhede’s tricky red-soil pitch, especially after it had nipped around for the MI pacers. But MI’s batters made it look like a Sunday club game. Ryan Rickelton, the lad from South Africa, was as cool as they come. He never looked rushed while compiling 62 not out off 41 balls, punishing anything short or wide with crisp drives and pulls.
The chase barely felt like a contest. Ishan Kishan gave the team a brisk start before falling for 23, but by then MI’s intentions were clear—no messing about. Suryakumar Yadav joined Rickelton and the two stitched together a fluent 45-run partnership, putting the result beyond doubt by the halfway mark. MI crossed the line at 117 for 2 in just 12.5 overs, the stands erupting as their team notched its first home win of the season.
KKR bowlers, who might have imagined using the early help from the pitch, looked flat once the surface eased up. Without a decent target, even their experienced spinners failed to dent MI’s rhythm. This match exposed Kolkata’s glaring weakness: after a series of decent results against MI in previous seasons, their batting collapse tonight set them back in the standings.
Talking head-to-head, Mumbai’s dominance now reads 23-11 over Kolkata. It’s a reminder that at Wankhede, experience and fresh legs like Ashwani’s can be a deadly combination. Mumbai looked balanced—pace up front, a spinner who tormented the middle, then batters who made the target look way too easy. No doubt, this win will boost their confidence and perhaps change the narrative in IPL 2025.
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