Mumbai Indians (MI) defeated Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by eight wickets in Match 12 at the Wankhede Stadium to celebrate their first home game of the TATA IPL 2025 season. With an incredible 4/24, debutant Ashwani Kumar stole the show, while Ryan Rickelton’s undefeated 62 from 41 balls made sure MI easily chased down 117 in just 12.5 overs. In this blog we will discuss all the Mumbai Indians Vs Kolkata Knight Riders Highlight IPL 2025.
MI captain Hardik Pandya chose to bowl first after winning the toss, and it was an instant success. In the opening over, Trent Boult hit a brilliant delivery that shattered the middle stump and dismissed Sunil Narine for a duck. Quinton de Kock was removed by Deepak Chahar in the following over, putting KKR in early difficulty.
With a few sharp strokes, captain Ajinkya Rahane and young Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who are both accustomed to Mumbai’s cricketing environment from domestic play, attempted to steady the batting. Their resistance, though, was short-lived. When Tilak Varma held onto a juggling catch at third man, debutant Ashwani Kumar made an immediate impression by removing Rahane on his first IPL ball.
Chahar kept up the pressure, brilliantly setting up Venkatesh Iyer before putting the keeper on edge in the last over of the powerplay. After six overs, at 41/4, KKR was in serious trouble.
Raghuvanshi appeared to be KKR’s best chance as wickets were dropping quickly, but Pandya entered the fray and sent the young player packing with a crisp bouncer. Impact Player Manish Pandey joined Rinku Singh at the crease, but Ashwani Kumar scored again, further compounding KKR’s problems. In the eleventh over, the young pacer got rid of Manish and Rinku.
Ashwani was far from finished. In his subsequent over, he dispatched Andre Russell with a fiery blow, guaranteeing that KKR would not mount a late-order comeback. Harshit Rana was removed by Vignesh Puthur, and Ramandeep Singh, who had amused himself with two sixes, was finally removed by Mitchell Santner.
Ashwani Kumar finished with impressive statistics of 4/24, the second-best by a MI bowler on his IPL debut, as KKR were dismissed for just 116 in 16.2 overs.
Despite some early movement from KKR’s pacers, Harshit Rana and Spencer Johnson, MI openers Ryan Rickelton and Rohit Sharma made a strong start as they chased 117. Before Russell made a breakthrough by getting rid of Rohit, the pair had a solid 46-run opening partnership.
But Rickelton was unconvinced. He led the chase and hit two straight sixes off Narine to reach his first IPL fifty in spectacular fashion. With just 28 needed from 60 balls, MI easily reached 89/1 in 10 overs.
Will Jacks was removed by Russell to take a second wicket, but Suryakumar Yadav ended the match in his usual forceful fashion. With a magnificent six over the keeper’s head, he completed the victory after smashing a quick 27 off just nine balls. MI needed just 12.5 overs to complete the chase at 121/2.
In addition to giving MI their first victory of the year, this resounding triumph raised their Net Run Rate dramatically, moving them up from 10th to sixth position in the standings. KKR, on the other hand, fell to the bottom of the rankings.
Conclusion
MI dominated their first home game in style. Ashwani Kumar’s brilliant 4/24 and Rickelton’s unbeaten 62 stole the show. KKR crumbled under pressure, managing only 116. MI chased it down effortlessly in 12.5 overs. Suryakumar sealed it with a stunning six. This big win gave MI their first victory and boosted their Net Run Rate. They jumped to sixth place, while KKR dropped to the bottom.
