Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya heaped praise on his team's scouting department for unearthing another gem in Ashwani Kumar, after the pace bowler produced the best figures by an Indian on his Indian Premier League debut.

Ashwani Kumar headlined Mumbai Indians’ clinical bowling performance against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday with a haul of 4/24 on IPL debut, which included the wicket of skipper Ajinkya Rahane in his first delivery.

Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya was full of praise for the team’s talent scouts after left-arm seamer Ashwani Kumar produced a dream debut, claiming 4-24 to set up an emphatic eight-wicket win against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.

Mumbai Indians (MI) finally got off the mark in IPL 2025 in emphatic style, delivering a dominant performance against defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Debutant Ashwani Kumar stole the show with a sensational four-wicket haul, while Ryan Rickelton’s unbeaten 62 guided MI to a commanding eight-wicket victory.

Sent into bat first, Kolkata Knight Riders looked a fish out of water in front of debutant Ashwani Kumar, whose 4/24 helped Mumbai Indians bundle out the opposition for 116 runs in the 17th over.

Mumbai Indians are well on their way to winning against Kolkata Knight Riders, reaching 62-1 from seven overs while chasing 117. Mumbai introduced Rohit Sharma as an impact sub to open the innings, and he and Ryan Rickelton put on 46 for the opening wicket.