IPL 2025, MI vs KKR: Presenting Player of the Day
What's the story
Left-arm pacer Ashwani Kumar scripted history on his IPL debut as Mumbai Indians demolished Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium to record their maiden win this season.
The 23-year-old from Jhanjeri, near Chandigarh, broke the backbone of KKR's batting order with a four-fer.
His brilliance helped MI restrict KKR to their lowest total of the season - 116/10 in 16.2 overs.
As MI prevailed in this fixture, Ashwani is our Player of the Day.
Match highlights
Kumar's debut performance dismantles KKR's batting lineup
Kumar's debut was highlighted by his first ball dismissal of KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane.
In his second over, Kumar picked the wickets of Rinku Singh and Manish Pandey, before sending Andre Russell packing in his third.
The left-arm seamer finished with figures worth 4/24 from three overs as none of the KKR batters could touch the 30-run mark.
Information
Why is Kumar our Player of the Day?
Each of Kumar's four victims are proven match winner in IPL. However, the pacer's constant strikes meant KKR failed to stitch a significant partnership. This led to their downfall. It must be noted that the KKR pacers were not too effective in the second innings as MI (121/2) prevailed in just 12.5 overs.
Historic achievement
Ashwani's debut performance etches his name in IPL history
As per Cricbuzz, Kumar became the first Indian to take at least four wickets on his IPL debut.
The best figures on debut in IPL belong to Alzarri Joseph, who took six wickets for 12 runs in the 2019 season against Sunrisers Hyderabad for MI.
Andrew Tye (4/5/17 vs RPSG in 2017) and Kevon Cooper (4/26 vs KXIP in 2012) are the only other bowlers with better debut figures than Kumar.
Player's thoughts
Kumar reflects on his historic debut
Reflecting on his historic debut, Kumar spoke about the match.
He said, "I felt very good, there was pressure but the team environment helped me to settle down."
He also revealed he didn't have lunch that day and ate only a banana because of some pressure.
Kumar added that skipper Hardik Pandya advised him to bowl into the wicket and back his skills.