Mumbai: IPL 2025 ke ek zabardast encounter mein Mumbai Indians (MI) ne Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ko 8 wickets se dhool chata di, aur iss jeet ka biggest hero raha – Ashwani Kumar! Captain Hardik Pandya ne post-match presentation mein khushi ke saath is jeet ko team effort bataya, lekin saath hi Ashwani Kumar ki debut performance ko ‘game-changing’ kaha.
Punjab ke 23-year-old pacer Ashwani Kumar ne apne IPL debut mein hi 4/24 ki dhamakedar bowling ki, jisme unhone Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh, Manish Pandey aur Andre Russell jaise big names ko pavilion bhej diya. Hardik Pandya ne khaas taur pe Russell ka wicket turning point bataya.
“Ghar mein jeet ka alag hi maza hota hai. Har player ne apna role nibhaaya, lekin Ashwani ne jo bowling ki, woh dekhne layak thi. Scouts ne ekdum sahi talent uthaya hai. Left-arm pacer hone ke saath uska action aur zip bhi unique hai. Russell ka wicket crucial tha aur match wahi se hamare paksh mein gaya.” – Hardik Pandya
Is match se pehle MI ko CSK aur GT ke khilaaf haar mili thi, lekin ab unhone apna winning streak shuru kar diya hai. KKR ko sirf 116 pe rokne ke baad MI ne target ko sirf 12.5 overs mein hi chase kar liya. Ryan Rickelton ne 41-ball 62 run banaye aur Suryakumar Yadav ne sirf 9 ball mein 27 runs ki tazza cameo kheli.
Ashwani Kumar ko unke stunning debut ke liye Player of the Match bhi chuna gaya. Yeh match unke career ka blockbuster start ban gaya hai. Ab MI ka agla muqabla hoga April 4 ko Lucknow Super Giants ke saath, jabki KKR face karega April 3 ko Sunrisers Hyderabad ka challenge.
