IPL 2025: ‘It’s never easy to make such strong debut at Wankhede’, Chawla hails Ashwani’s show vs KKR

Mumbai, April 1 (IANS) After Mumbai Indians’ pacer Ashwani Kumar’s impressive four-wicket haul against Kolkata Knight Riders, former India spinner Piyush Chawla was full of praise for the debutant, highlighting the difficulty of making such an impact at Wankhede Stadium in the debut match and said despite limited first-class experience, the youngster’s performance was an incredible achievement.

The 23-year-old left-arm pacer who made his IPL debut for MI on Monday after playing only four T20 matches on the domestic circuit. He struck with his first ball in the tournament, dismissing KKR’s captain Ajinkya Rahane, before picking up the wickets of Manish Pandey, Rinku Singh and Andre Russell to become the first Indian to take a four-wicket haul (4-24) on IPL debut.

With his scintillating show that led MI to their first win of the season, Kumar bagged his maiden Player of the Match award.

“The way he came in, it’s never easy to make such a strong debut, especially at Wankhede, which is known as a batting paradise. Getting a wicket with the very first ball gives any bowler immense confidence. After that, he bowled with great control, varying his lengths effectively. His dismissal of Andre Russell was particularly impressive—he set it up beautifully.

“He bowled a couple of bouncers when Russell walked in, making him expect the short ball, and then smartly pitched one up to get him out. For a debutant who hasn’t played much first-class cricket, coming in at this level and delivering such a spell is an incredible achievement,” Chawla said on JioHotstar.

While Ashwani blazed past the KKR batting department to bowl out the visitors to 116 in 16.2 overs, Rickelton’s smooth half-century was just the icing on the top for the hosts as the South African’s unbeaten 62 off 41 balls ensured MI chased down 117 with ease in just 12.5 overs.

Commenting on Rickelton’s batting performance, Chawla said the wicketkeeper batter’s innings will boost his confidence as the tournament progresses.

“When he came in, he took some time to settle, but he made sure to capitalise on any delivery in his slot. The most impressive part was how he handled two quality spinners—Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine. He played them beautifully, using the reverse sweep effectively and going on the back foot to pull Narine over mid-wicket.

“He read their lengths well, which is crucial. This innings will give him a lot of confidence moving forward in the tournament. It’s a long season, and you want your openers to lay a solid foundation to build victories,” Chawla said.

The former India spinner also spoke about Hardik Pandya’s captaincy against KKR and said, “I think the best part of his captaincy was his attacking approach. He read the conditions well and understood that there was something in the pitch for the seamers, so he used them effectively. One move I particularly liked was when Vignesh came in to bowl while Harshit Rana was batting towards the end. You want to get that wicket rather than letting the opposition add another 10-15 runs with Ramandeep Singh still there.”

“Overall, his decision-making was spot on. When a partnership was building between Manish Pandey and Rinku Singh, he brought Ashwani Kumar into the attack, and that over changed the game. The team executed their plans perfectly today,” he added.

–IANS

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