Ashwani Kumar had an IPL debut for the ages for Mumbai Indians against Kolkata Knight Riders in Mumbai on Monday. The 23-year-old Ashwani accounted for Ajinkya Rahane (11), Rinku Singh (17), impact sub Manish Pandey (17) and Andre Russell (5) to break the Knight Riders’ back after Deepak Chahar (2/19) and Trent Boult (1/23) made early inroads in the powerplay. With that stellar effort, Ashwani became the first Indian to take four wickets in his maiden IPL outing.

Ashwani is from a town called Jhanjeri, near Chandigarh. He has a really good and deceptive bouncer. Known for his pace variations, Ashwani also had a very good wide yorker and impressed in the Sher E Punjab T20 Trophy last year, where he closed out plenty of matches with his effective death bowling. Ashwani made a brilliant start, dismissing KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane on his very first ball in the IPL.

“I felt very good, there was pressure but the team environment helped me to settle down. I didn’t have lunch today, I only ate a banana, there was some pressure so I didn’t feel hungry. I made a bit of plan, they (team management) told that it’s debut match so enjoy yourself and back your skills. The captain also played his role, Hardik bhai told me to bowl it into the wicket. Everyone in the village will be watching me play, I got my opportunity today and I’m very happy,” Ashwani said in the mid-innings break.

Ashwani Kumar has only played four senior T20 matches prior to his IPL debut, in addition to 2 Ranji Trophy and 4 List A matches.  Today is the first time ever that Ashwani has picked 4 wickets in a match. His previous best was 3/37 in List A cricket and 1/19 in T20 cricket.  He’s the 1st Indian ever to take 4 wickets on IPL debut.