Mumbai: Speaking exclusively on Kuhl Fans Match Centre Live on JioHotstar, JioStar expert Kane Williamson commented on Mumbai Indians’ winning performance: “It was a complete performance. Winning the toss, bowling first, and executing their plans beautifully. Bringing in an extra seamer, Ashwani, who was outstanding. They took wickets consistently, and I think that was the most pleasing aspect. It’s not often nowadays, with the impact player rule, that you see a team preventing any substantial partnerships. But they applied pressure throughout and were dominant in every phase of the match.”
JioStar expert Piyush Chawla analyzed Kolkata Knight Riders’ performance and what went wrong for them:“Sometimes, you have to respect the conditions. It wasn’t a typical batting surface, especially with the new ball. You need to play cautiously at the start because once the ball gets older and softer, that’s when you can go for your shots. But here, that didn’t happen. We all know Trent Boult can swing the ball outside, and it was clear that he had a plan for Sunil Narine, which worked perfectly. Venkatesh Iyer also struggled, repeatedly attempting fancy shots. As I mentioned earlier, the pressure of his heavy price tag is always there. Then, the way Rinku got out—he has a good head on his shoulders, but that shot was unnecessary. There were still 8-10 overs left, and the team needed stability. Even with an impact player and batting depth till number nine, they couldn’t play the full 20 overs. That tells the whole story.”
JioStar expert Piyush Chawla also spoke about debutant Ashwani Kumar’s impressive performance for Mumbai Indians, he said: “The way he came in, it’s never easy to make such a strong debut, especially at Wankhede, which is known as a batting paradise. Getting a wicket with the very first ball gives any bowler immense confidence. After that, he bowled with great control, varying his lengths effectively. His dismissal of Andre Russell was particularly impressive—he set it up beautifully. He bowled a couple of bouncers when Russell walked in, making him expect the short ball, and then smartly pitched one up to get him out. For a debutant who hasn’t played much first-class cricket, coming in at this level and delivering such a spell is an incredible achievement.”
JioStar expert Piyush Chawla also commented on Ryan Rickelton’s batting performance, he said: “When he came in, he took some time to settle, but he made sure to capitalize on any delivery in his slot. The most impressive part was how he handled two quality spinners—Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine. He played them beautifully, using the reverse sweep effectively and going on the back foot to pull Narine over mid-wicket. He read their lengths well, which is crucial. This innings will give him a lot of confidence moving forward in the tournament. It’s a long season, and you want your openers to lay a solid foundation to build victories.”
JioStar expert Piyush Chawla also spoke about Hardik Pandya’s captaincy in today’s match, he said: “I think the best part of his captaincy was his attacking approach. He read the conditions well and understood that there was something in the pitch for the seamers, so he used them effectively. One move I particularly liked was when Vignesh came in to bowl while Harshit Rana was batting towards the end. You want to get that wicket rather than letting the opposition add another 10-15 runs with Ramandeep Singh still there. Overall, his decision-making was spot on. When a partnership was building between Manish Pandey and Rinku Singh, he brought Ashwani Kumar into the attack, and that over changed the game. The team executed their plans perfectly today.”
