MI vs KKR

Ashwani Kumar (Player of the Match, Mumbai Indians): It is a big thing for me to get an opportunity and get the Player of the Match award. I just did whatever processes I went through. I was confident but a bit nervous prior to the game to see what would happen. (Message to his villagers watching) In the next matches I play, I will make you all proud and win games for Mumbai

Hardik Pandya (captain, Mumbai Indians): Very satisfying to win at home. The way we did it as a group couldn't be more happy. It is always a challenge picking a guy here and there. We are very sorted with the guys whom we are backing. We backed Ashwani and were very happy for him. It is all about the scouts. MI scouts have gone there and picked them. We played a practice game, and he had a different action and had some late swings. The way he took the wicket of Russell was very crucial. Also, Quinton's catch which he took was terrific to watch. If it goes my way, it looks good, but the team we have is a good blend of experience and youth. It is just an early start, but it is a great sign for everyone to chip in and get some confidence to kick off our tournament.

Ryan Rickelton: Took my time, couldn't lay bat on ball to be honest, had to wait for my opportunity. The ball was nibbling around. Chatting to the guys in South Africa, it did a bit and looking forward to maximise on the pace which was offer today. Yeah it's unbelievable, I have never been at the Wankhede and it's amazing to see it turn blue. It's a special place to be in. I think they executed really well, the conditions allowed certain tactics to adjust. We communicated quite earlier about our plans. We did brilliantly to restrict them to less than 120. I just said to Quinney that SKY is a joke. He has played that shot many a time, I won't try anytime soon.

Ajinkya Rahane (Kolkata Knight Riders captain): Yes I thought it was a collective batting failure. It was a good wicket to bat on. Absolutely we expect that at Wankhede, it has very good bounce. Sometimes you have to use the pace of this wicket, couldn't do much with the ball. The bowlers tried their best but the score wasn't enough. We kept losing wickets, four wickets in the powerplay and it was difficult to consolidate from there. It just didn't go our way tonight.

10:25 pm IST: Mumbai Indians beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 8 wickets

Mumbai Indians: 121/2 after 12.5 overs

Ryan Rickelton: 62(41b)* | Andre Russell: 2/35 (2.5 overs)
Surya Kumar Yadav: 27(9b)*

A comprehensive win for the Mumbai Indians in the end. They bowled well, they fielded well when asked, and now they have batted exceptionally well, too. They have their first points for the season on board, and they will be looking to continue in a similar way throughout the tournament.

MI was a bit circumspect to get off the mark, with Rohit and Rickelton taking some time to get off the blocks. Once the ball had stopped moving too much, Rickelton took the initiative of taking the attack to the bowlers and kept going. Rohit lost his wicket looking to up the ante, and Will Jacks also struggled for timing in the middle, but Rickelton kept going, getting to his first half-century in the league. In the end, a Suryakumar Yadav blitz sealed the deal, with MI getting their first win at home in front of their home crowd.

Kolkata Knight Riders got some help early on in the innings but never fully capitalized on it. Andre Russell picked up both the wickets to fall but was a tad bit expensive as well. The pairing of Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy couldn't pick up wickets, ending wicketless in the game. Spencer Johnson and Harshit Rana got some shape early on and beat the bat, but errors from Rana and lack of bowling Spencer on this track saw KKR concede the game.

Let's now see what the presentation ceremony has in store for us

12.5 Andre Russell to Suryakumar Yadav, SIX! MI register their first win of IPL 2025 and it has a thoroughly clinical all-round performance from the five time champions. On a fuller-length around the middle stump, SKY gets inside the line of the ball and flicks it straight over the keeper's head and comfortably clears the long leg boundary. 

12.4 Andre Russell to Ryan Rickelton, guides away the back of a length delivery a shade outside off towards the backward point fielder, bit of a fumble allows Rickelton to roll the strike over. 

12.3 Andre Russell to Suryakumar Yadav, full-length delivery around the middle stump channel, flicked away towards the deep midwicket region for a single. 

12.2 Andre Russell to Suryakumar Yadav, FOUR! SKY is playing with the field now, shorter length delivery around the chest height, he crouches back and uses the pace of the delivery to ramp it over the short third man fielder for a boundary. 

12.1 Andre Russell to Suryakumar Yadav, FOUR! Pace-off shorter length delivery a shade outside off, SKY stands tall and pulls it away down towards the midwicket boundary, didn't quite nail that but was perfectly in the gap. 

11.6 Sunil Narine to Suryakumar Yadav, flicks away the fuller-length delivery around off, down towards the deep midwicket region and rolls the strike over.