On Monday, March 31, the Mumbai Indians (MI) defeated the defending champions, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), in a thrilling triumph that marked their first victory of the IPL 2025 season. In their maiden home game at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, the Mumbai-based team put up a strong show with the bat and the ball despite having a poor start to the season.

In three games, it was KKR’s second defeat of the season.

Ramandeep Singh, a lower order batsman for the Knight Riders who batted at number nine in the previous game,

stated after the game that he wouldn’t mind leading the team in the first innings if given the opportunity.

“Main toh mujhhe open kara de chahta hai. Toh wahi koshish rehti hai meri toh. I would like to bat first. During the press conference after the game, Ramandeep Singh stated, “I always try to bat up the order.”

“Java team mein mujhe opporutnity milti hai, mujhe waha accha karne ki koshish karni hai, jaha team ka jaha combination set hai.” Koshish karni hai match-winner banne ki. I am prepared to bat wherever the team requests, and we have a predetermined combination. There, I’ll deliver knocks that win games,” he continued.

Ashwani Kumar of MI excels on his IPL debut.

Ashwani Kumar, MI’s rookie, had a memorable game. After taking four wickets, including one on the first ball, he was named ‘Player of the Match’. The footballer, who hails from a small Punjabi town, was only 23 years old when he made his debut in the lucrative league. But he demonstrated his abilities and made his presence known to the globe.

Ryan Rickelton, who amassed an undefeated 62 runs off 41 balls, had an outstanding day at the bat as well. During his innings, he hit five sixes and four boundaries. Following the dismissals of Will Jacks (16 off 17) and Rohit Sharma (13 off 12), Suryakumar Yadav (27* off 9) remained with Rickelton and drove the team home.