Twitter Reactions: Akash Madhwal runs riot to dismantle LSG in a one-sided Eliminator

Mumbai Indians are headed into Qualifier 2 after making light work of Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator of IPL 2023 at Chepauk. While Cameron Green and Nehal Wadhera’s blistering assaults helped Mumbai to a competitive total in the first innings, the bowlers, led by Akash Madhwal’s spectacular five-for, sealed a resounding victory for the five-time champions.

Chasing a competitive total, Lucknow never got going as they lost make-shift opener Prerak Mankad cheaply in just the second over of the second innings. Kyle Mayers also departed soon after to compound the miseries for the Lucknow Super Giants. 

Despite those early blows, Krunal Pandya’s side were in the chase, largely due to Marcus Stoinis’ power-hitting. However, the match completely turned on its head when Akash Madhwal dismissed two LSG batters in two deliveries, sending back the dangerous Ayush Badoni and Nicholas Pooran on successive deliveries.

While Madhwal impressed with his brilliant bowling display, the LSG batters dug themselves into a hole with some baffling running between the wickets. First, it was the dangerous Stoinis, who was run out after a collision, followed by Krishnappa Gowtham and Deepak Hooda. The harakiri by the batters saw the team lose five wickets for just 12 runs, bowing out of the tournament with a whimper. 

A young Akash Madhwal was the hero of the night for Mumbai as he returned with mind-boggling figures of 5/5, the best figures for a bowler in the knockout stages in IPL history. He also equalled legendary Indian spinner Anil Kumble’s record of the most economical five-for in the history of the competition.

Nehal Wadhera’s late riposte lifts Mumbai to a competitive total

Earlier in the match, Rohit Sharma won the toss, and unlike his former teammate Hardik Pandya, he decided to bat first at Chepauk. The five-time champions made a decent start to the innings but were stopped in their tracks after both openers Rohit Sharma and Ishan Ishan fell in quick succession during the powerplay. 

However, the five-time champions struck back via a blistering stand between Suryakumar Yadav and Cameron Green for the third wicket. Both the batters were looking well set at the crease and threatening to take Mumbai to a daunting total. But LSG fought their way back into the contest after Afghan pacer Naveen-ul-Haq got rid of both batters in the space of just three deliveries.

The Lucknow-based outfit kept chipping at the wickets to keep the scoring rate in check in the middle overs. It took a special cameo from Nehal Wadhera to take Mumbai Indians to a competitive total of 182 runs in their 20 overs. Naveen returned with four wickets to his name, while Yash Thakur also scalped three crucial wickets.