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Ashwani Kumar Praises MI's Positive Dressing Room After 99-Run Rout of GT

Mumbai Indians secured a comprehensive 99-run victory over Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad, powered by a brilliant century from Tilak Varma. Seamer Ashwani Kumar, playing his first match of the season, was instrumental with the ball, taking four wickets. Kumar praised the team's persistently positive mindset in the dressing room, even after four consecutive losses. The win lifts MI to seventh place while GT slips to sixth in the IPL 2026 standings.

Key Points: MI's Ashwani Kumar Lauds Team Spirit After Big Win vs GT

  • MI wins by 99 runs
  • Tilak Varma scores maiden IPL century
  • Ashwani Kumar takes 4 wickets on debut
  • GT collapses for 100 all out
  • MI moves to 7th on points table
2 min read

"Our team was very positive even if we were losing": Ashwani Kumar lauds MI dressing room environment

Mumbai Indians' Ashwani Kumar highlights the positive dressing room environment after a 99-run victory over Gujarat Titans in IPL 2026. Read more.

"Our team was very positive, even if we were losing. - Ashwani Kumar"

Ahmedabad, April 21

Mumbai Indians delivered a dominant all-round performance to defeat Gujarat Titans by 99 runs in the Indian Premier League 2026 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

With this win, Mumbai moved up to seventh place on the IPL 2026 points table, having secured two wins against four defeats from six matches. The five-time champions now have four points, with a Net Run Rate (NRR) of +0.067.

Addressing the media during a post-match press conference, Ashwani Kumar, who bowled brilliantly in the match, said MI didn't have a low mindset despite losing four back-to-back matches in this tournament.

"We were looking at what mistakes we made. We did what the coaches were telling us to do. We didn't have a low mindset. Our team was very positive, even if we were losing," said the 24-year-old seamer.

Batting first, MI posted 199/5, powered by a brilliant maiden IPL century from Tilak Varma, who scored an unbeaten 101 off 45 balls. Despite early wickets, MI recovered strongly in the death overs.

In reply, Gujarat never got going as they suffered a dramatic top-order collapse, losing Sai Sudharsan for a golden duck and slipping to 45/3 inside six overs. The innings further crumbled as Ashwani Kumar (4/24), Mitchell Santner (2/16), and AM Ghazanfar (2/17) ran through the batting lineup, bundling Gujarat out for 100.

Ashwani Kumar came as an Impact Player when MI were looking to defend a 199-run total and picked four wickets. Playing his first match of the season, he finished with a strong bowling performance.

Speaking about his preparation for the match, he said, "I was working on my yorkers and swing. I was waiting for the right moment."

Tilak Varma made his maiden IPL ton in the match, helping MI post a score close to 200 runs.

On Tilak's performance and team environment, he said, "The team atmosphere is great. Tilak played very well. Our dressing room was always positive. Whenever we went up or down, it was always positive. It was a good atmosphere. We knew we'd do it. "

Shubman Gill's Gujarat Titans have slipped to sixth position with three wins and three losses in six games. They remain on six points, but their net run rate stands at -0.821.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

P
Priya S
Great to see a young Indian pacer like Ashwani Kumar step up. His 4/24 was match-winning. But honestly, the team needs to find this consistency now. One big win is good, but the tournament is about stringing wins together. Hope this is the turning point.
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Rohit P
What a knock by Tilak Varma! 101* off 45 balls is pure carnage. He's been promising for so long, glad he's delivered a big one. The dressing room environment seems positive, which is half the battle won in a long tournament like IPL.
S
Sarah B
As a neutral fan, it's refreshing to see such a dominant win. GT's batting collapse was shocking though. MI's bowling attack looked lethal today. The Impact Player rule worked perfectly for them by bringing in Ashwani.
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Vikram M
Positive mindset is key, but let's be real, the results weren't there. This win is a massive relief. Need to build on this momentum. The middle order finally fired. Hoping Hardik's leadership gets stronger from here. #MumbaiIndians 💙
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Karthik V
Respect to Ashwani for his words and performance. Waiting for your chance and then delivering when it comes - that's the sign of a good professional. The yorkers he was talking about were on point today. More please!

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