IPL 2025: MI vs KKR, Match 12 – Who Said What?

On Monday, March 31, Mumbai Indians (MI) hosted Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2025 Match 12 at the legendary Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Captain Hardik Pandya urged the visitors to bat first after winning the toss.

At the toss, Pandya claimed the surface looked decent and the opposition may find it harder to bowl in the evening. Thus, chasing made sense to the MI captain. Rahane admitted he was unsure of the pitch, so losing the toss could be a positive thing if KKR manages to put up a good total. The sea breeze helps pacers move the ball and makes it difficult for batters to chase the mark. Kolkata suffered that day.

Talking Points

1. Mumbai dismantle Kolkata for a paltry total

The decision proved right for Mumbai as the KKR batters struggled, suffering early jolts, including the dismissals of key players like Quinton de Kock and Venkatesh Iyer. As a result, they were left reeling at 59/5 within eight overs. Towards the end of the innings, Manish Pandey and Rinku Singh tried their best to put some runs on the board. However, KKR was eventually bowled out for a meagre 116 runs.

2. Debutant Ashwani Kumar’s dream IPL debut for MI

The star of the day was debutant left-arm pacer Ashwani Kumar, who stole the show with a historic performance for Mumbai Indians. He was right on the money from the very first ball of his IPL career, ending up with a sensational four-wicket haul (4/24) against the Kolkata-based franchise.

Quite incredibly, his maiden wicket was none other than opposition captain Ajinkya Rahane, whom he dismissed with his very first IPL delivery. Apart from Rahane, Ashwani also claimed the scalps of big names like Rinku Singh, Manish Pandey, and Andre Russell.

3. Rickelton’s explosive knock, MI end losing streak in IPL 2025

The hosts came out all guns blazing in the run chase. While Rohit Sharma (13 off 12 balls) continued his poor form, his fellow opener Ryan Rickelton pummeled Kolkata Knight Riders with a blistering unbeaten 62 off 41 balls. Notably, his fiery knock included five sixes and four boundaries.

All-rounder Andre Russell claimed both of MI’s wickets, but by the time Will Jacks was dismissed, the score was already close to 100. In the end, Rickelton and Suryakumar Yadav (27* off 9 balls) completed the formality, sealing a dominant victory for Mumbai Indians by eight wickets with 43 balls to spare. With this win, MI finally ended their losing streak in the ongoing IPL 2025 season.

Meanwhile, here’s what the captains and POTM (Player of the Match) had to say regarding how the match turned out on the Wankhede IPL opener:

Who Said What?

Hardik Pandya, MI (Winning captain) said,

Very satisfying. To win, especially at home and the way we did it as a group – everyone chipped in, cannot be happier. It is always a challenge of picking one guy here or there. Our team is sorted with the players we are backing and the players we have. We thought Ashwani can come in (on this pitch) and bowl the way he bowled. It is all scouts – they picked him. They have gone to all the places and picked these young kids.

We played a practice game, he had that zip, that late swing, something off the wicket, a different action and he was a leftie. We just backed him and the way he took that wicket of Russell was a very crucial wicket, and how he started with the catch of de Kock, it was terrific to see (a fast bowler jumping up to take it). When it goes my way, it looks good. But the kind of team we have, we have a lot of young and experienced players combined and I do not have to worry much. Early start, but a great sign for everyone to chip in and kick off the tournament for us.

Ajinkya Rahane, KKR (Losing captain) said,

Collective batting failure. It was a good wicket bat on as I mentioned in the toss. 180-190 would have been good on this wicket. It has a very good bounce. Sometimes you have to use the pace and bounce. We got to learn really fast from this game. Couldn’t much with the ball. They tried their best. But not much runs on the board. We kept on losing wickets. Four wickets in the powerplay. It was difficult to consolidate and get that total on the board. You need that partnership going. You need one batsman to stay till the end.

Ashwani Kumar, Player of the Match said,