"With The Impact Player Rule...": Kane Williamson's Big Praise For MI After KKR Win

At a time when teams are amassing big totals with consummate ease in the IPL, Mumbai Indians have bowled out Kolkata Knight Riders for 116 in their latest face-off, an effort that has left New Zealand star Kane Williamson highly impressed. MI won the game by eight wickets on Monday to open their account in the ongoing edition of the league after starting it with two successive reverses. "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," said Williamson on JioHotstar.

"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," the Kiwi great added.

Ashwani Kumar's record four-wicket haul on IPL debut and Ryan Rickelton's 62 not out powered Mumbai Indians to a commanding win over defending champions KKR at the Wankhede Stadium.

The 23-year-old Ashwani from Punjab's Jhanjeri became the first Indian ever to take four wickets on IPL debut as he ended with figures of 3-0-24-4 to blow away KKR's star-studded batting lineup.

Former India spinner Piyush Chawla said KKR failed to come up with the right strategy while batting keeping in mind the conditions and match situations.

"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