Last Update: May 25, 2023, 3:28 PM IST
Andy Flower (left) and Gautam Gambhir after the elimination of LSG from IPL 2023. (pic credit: sportzpix)
Akash Madhwal was the star of Mumbai Indians’ 81-run victory, with the pacer taking five wickets.
Lucknow Supergiants mentor Gautam Gambhir was stunned by Mumbai Indians pacer Akash Madhwal’s bowling masterclass.
The uncapped Madhwal stole the limelight in LSG’s encounter against Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2023 Eliminator at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Thanks to his extraordinary five-wicket haul, Mumbai secured a resounding 81-run victory and progressed to the second qualifier.
The game remained in limbo till Madhwal dismissed Ayush Badoni and Nicholas Pooran for two consecutive balls in the 10th over of Lucknow’s batting. After Madhwal’s game-changing over, Gambhir was seen sitting in the Lucknow dugout with a jittery reaction.
Given the slow nature of Chepauk’s wicket, the bowlers were expected to play a major role.
Madhwal did not disappoint. He opened the account by taking the early wicket of Lucknow opener Prerak Mankad.
When Marcus Stoinis and Badoni tried to recover a bit, Madhwal gave Lucknow two consecutive setbacks in the 10th over.
He first uprooted the stumps of Badoni and then trapped the newly arrived batsman Nicholas Pooran on a slower ball.
In the second leg of the chase, Ravi Bishnoi and Mohsin Khan fell prey to Madhwal.
The pacer from Uttarakhand not only picked up five crucial wickets but was also very economical. Madhwal gave only 5 runs in his 3.3 overs.
With bowling figures of 5/5, the 29-year-old equaled legendary Indian spinner Anil Kumble’s record for taking five wickets as well as conceding the fewest runs.
Demoralized by Mumbai’s lethal bowling performance, Lucknow ended their innings on 101 runs. Only three batsmen from the Lucknow unit managed to score double digits. The only notable score came with the bat from Stoinis as the Australian all-rounder smashed 40 off 27 balls.
Among other Mumbai bowlers, Chris Jordan and Piyush Chawla took one wicket each.
Mumbai signed Madhwal ahead of IPL 2022 for his base price of Rs 20 lakhs.
After some of the first team bowlers were ruled out of this season due to injuries, Mumbai decided to test Madhwal’s potential and he succeeded.
Madhwal has taken a total of 13 wickets in 7 matches so far.
After the Lucknow game, the Uttarakhand pacer termed Pooran’s wicket as “the most enjoyable for him”.
