Akash Madhwal’s sizzling maiden five-wicket haul (5/5), helped Mumbai Indians beat Lucknow Super Giants by 81 runs in the Eliminator and cruise into Qualifier 2 of the TATA IPL 2023.

Akash Madhwal’s sizzling maiden five-wicket haul (5/5), helped Mumbai Indians beat Lucknow Super Giants by 81 runs in the Eliminator and cruise into Qualifier 2 of the TATA IPL 2023.

Akash Madhwal’s sizzling maiden five-wicket haul (5/5), helped Mumbai Indians beat Lucknow Super Giants by 81 runs in the Eliminator and cruise into Qualifier 2 of the TATA IPL 2023.

Mumbai Indians showcased impactful attacking performances from Cameron Green (41 off 23), Suryakumar Yadav (33 off 20), Tilak Varma (26 off 22), and the impact player Nehal Wadhera (23 off 12), which propelled them to a competitive total of 182/8. However, it was Akash Madhwal who stole the spotlight on the grand stage with a lethal spell of 5/5, ripping through LEGs batting order. Under immense pressure, the Krunal Pandya-led side succumbed and was bowled out for 101, including three run-outs.

In pursuit of 183, LSG had a shaky start as they lost Prerak Mankad early. Kyle Mayers, their next batsman, had a fortunate escape in the first over when he survived a run-out chance. Mankad hit the ball towards point, where Shokeen made an outstanding one-handed stop but missed the direct hit at the non-striker’s end, allowing Mayers to return safely after a mix-up. Mayers would have been well short had the fielder hit the stumps. However, Mayers’ luck didn’t last long as he mistimed his pull to mid-on off Jordan in the fourth over, departing for 18 off 13.

In the following over, MI had a chance to dismiss the dangerous Marcus Stoinis, but Wadhera misjudged a catch at deep point and fell short despite a diving effort. Stoinis then took on Shokeen, scoring two well-placed fours and a lofted six down the ground, accumulating 18 runs in the over and taking LSG to 54/2 at the end of the Powerplay.

Just as a partnership was developing, the experienced Piyush Chawla intervened and broke the 46-run stand by dismissing captain Krunal Pandya (8 off 11), caught at long-on. The pressure continued to mount, and Ayush Badoni succumbed to it as he attempted a swing across the line off Madhwal but failed to connect, resulting in his off stump being knocked down. Madhwal delivered a brilliant delivery on the next ball, leading to the dismissal of the dangerous Nicholas Pooran, caught behind the stumps. At the halfway mark, MI reduced LSG to 75/5.

LSG’s fortunes continued to decline as Stoinis was run out after a mid-pitch collision with Hooda while attempting a tight second run. An excellent tag-team effort from Green and Rohit saw the dismissal of Stoinis.

Gowtham’s run-out was executed brilliantly by Rohit Sharma, who scored a direct hit from the covers. Gowtham tapped the ball to point where Cameron Green made a diving stop and quickly relayed it to Rohit. Gowtham initially thought of taking a single, but he was sent back by his partner. Unfortunately, he was late in turning back, and Rohit’s direct hit found him well short of the crease.

In the same over, Akash Madhwal struck again for Mumbai Indians, this time getting Ravi Bishnoi caught at long on. The calamity continued for Lucknow Super Giants as another mix-up resulted in Deepak Hooda getting dismissed. As a result, LSG’s score crumbled to 100/9. Madhwal continued his impressive spell and fittingly finished the game off by clean bowling Mohsin Khan with a fantastic yorker. This performance earned him his maiden five-wicket haul in the IPL, and he registered the best bowling figures of IPL 2023 so far, finishing with 3.5-0-5-5.

Earlier in the match, Mumbai Indians won the toss and elected to bat. They made two changes to their starting XI, bringing in Tilak Varma and Hrithik Shokeen to replace Nehal Wadhera and Kumar Kartikeya. Their substitutes for the match were Ramandeep Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Vishnu Vinod, and Kumar Kartikeya.

Lucknow Super Giants also made two changes to their lineup, with Deepak Hooda and Yash Thakur replacing Quinton de Kock and Karan Sharma. Their substitutes for the match included Kyle Mayers, Daniel Sams, Yudhvir Singh, Swapnil Singh, and Amit Mishra.

Mumbai Indians had a strong start to their innings but lost their captain, Rohit Sharma, and Ishan Kishan within the Powerplay. Kishan played aggressively, hitting a boundary through backward point off the first ball and a couple of fours in the second over bowled by K Gowtham. Rohit Sharma attacked Krunal Pandya, hitting a six over long-on and a four behind square leg in the same over, adding 16 runs. However, in the fourth over, Naveen-ul-Haq, introduced into the attack by Krunal, dismissed Rohit Sharma, caught at extra cover after scoring 11 runs off 10 balls.

Cameron Green continued the aggression, hitting a couple of fours off Naveen. However, in the next over, Kishan (15 off 12) got out, edging the ball to the keeper while attempting a slash. Suryakumar Yadav then showcased his skills, smashing a remarkable six with a pull shot over the keeper. Green took on Krunal, hitting three well-placed fours, which helped Mumbai Indians reach 62/2 at the end of the Powerplay. Suryakumar and Green continued to score runs quickly, hitting a couple of massive sixes off Mohsin as Mumbai Indians reached 98/2 at the halfway mark.

With the partnership flourishing, Lucknow Super Giants needed a breakthrough. Krunal brought back Naveen, who delivered by taking two wickets in the over. He outfoxed the dangerous Suryakumar Yadav (33 off 20) to dismiss him.

Gowtham’s dismissal came from a slower delivery that deceived him, resulting in a catch at long off. Two balls later, Green fell victim to another slower one as he misjudged an off cutter that sharply nipped back in, causing his stumps to be castled.

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) did an excellent job of pulling things back during the 13th to 15th over phase, conceding just 15 runs. The boundary drought was finally broken by Tilak Varma, who smashed a six over deep square leg off Naveen. However, Naveen bounced back well, giving away only 3 more runs in the remaining four balls of the over. In the next over, Yash Thakur claimed an important wicket by dismissing Tim David (13 off 13) as he hit a high full toss straight to long on.

Mumbai Indians then sent Nehal Wadhera as an Impact Player at No.7, replacing Suryakumar Yadav. Wadhera struck a six off Naveen in the 18th over, but Naveen retaliated by dismissing Tilak Varma in the same over, concluding a fantastic spell of 4-0-38-4. Mohsin bowled an impressive penultimate over, conceding only 6 runs (with 4 of them being byes) and taking the wicket of Jordan.

Impact Player Wadhera (23 off 12) provided the crucial final flourish, utilizing the crease effectively and targeting the shorter side to hit a couple of fours and a six. However, he eventually holed out to deep cover off the last ball of the innings, as Mumbai Indians finished with a total of 182/8 in their allotted 20 overs.

It was an impressive comeback by Lucknow Super Giants to restrict Mumbai Indians to 182 runs after the latter was cruising at one point with a score of 104/2 in the 11th over.

In the second innings, Lucknow Super Giants introduced Kyle Mayers as their Impact Player, replacing Yash Thakur.