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Ashwani Kumar after taking a four-fer on his IPL debut, made a surprising yet hilarious revelation during the mid-innings break.
Ashwani Kumar took four wickets on his IPL debut. (Image: Sportzpics)
Mumbai Indians showcased yet another talent, Ashwani Kumar, who delivered a tremendous performance on debut by taking a four-wicket haul against the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League 2025 clash on Monday.
The youngster was introduced into the attack during the fourth over of the powerplay, where he came out roaring with the big wicket of the KKR skipper, Ajinkya Rahane, off his first ball. He then followed it up in the remaining two overs by getting rid of both Rinku Singh and Manish Pandey as well. He finally capped it off with a fourth by removing the dangerous Andre Russell after setting him up with the short-ball barrage and then mixing it up with the full ball crashing onto the stumps.
Speaking during the mid-innings break, the 23-year-old credited the team for creating the environment for him to deal with the pressure. In fact, the pressure was so much that he just had a banana before the game, and that was his only meal for the day.
“I am feeling very good. I was feeling pressure early on, but the team environment did not make me feel that way,” he shared.
“I just had a banana because there was pressure, so I was not feeling very hungry. I had planned a little but they told me to enjoy myself on debut and bowl what I have been bowling,” he added.
He also revealed the instructions that the captain, Hardik Pandya, had given to him, which proved to be the right call as he ran riot through KKR’s middle-order.
“Hardik bhai told me to bowl short and to bowl at the body, and that led to a wicket. In my village, everyone would be watching. They were just waiting for my debut, and by god’s grace, I got an opportunity tonight and did well.”
Mumbai Indians went on to win the match as Ryan Rickelton’s quickfire fifty ensured that they won by 8 wickets with 7.1 overs to spare.
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