Mumbai Indians' young pace sensation Ashwani Kumar made a dream start to his Indian Premier League (IPL) career becoming the first Indian bowler to take a four-wicket haul on debut. The left-arm pacer achieved this milestone against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on March 31, delivering a match-winning performance at the Wankhede Stadium.

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Ashwani Kumar playing his first-ever IPL game delivered a stunning spell of 4/24 in just three overs. The 23-year-old dismissed key KKR batters, including Captain Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh, Manish Pandey, and the dangerous Andre Russell. His fiery spell played a crucial role in restricting KKR to a modest 116 runs.

With this remarkable performance Ashwani Kumar now joins an elite list of bowlers who have taken four or more wickets on their IPL debut:

Best bowling figures on IPL debut

• Alzarri Joseph (MI) - 6/12 vs SRH (2019)
• Andrew Tye (Gujarat Lions) - 5/17 vs Rising Pune Supergiant (2017)
• Shoaib Akhtar (KKR) - 4/11 vs Delhi Daredevils (2008)
• Ashwani Kumar (MI) - 4/24 vs KKR (2025)*
• Kevon Cooper (RR) - 4/26 vs Kings XI Punjab (2012)

After his brilliant spell, Ashwani shared his thoughts on the high-pressure game, saying:

 "It is a wonderful feeling. There was a lot of pressure but the way the team environment is, it went alright. (On what he ate) Lunch, I didn't eat anything (Lunch me kuch nahi khaya). Only had a banana. There were too much nerves before the game. I planned a a lot. They said, it is your debut game, just go out there and bowl as you do."