Akash Madhwal (5/5) runs through LSG after Surya & Co do the job with the bat to take MI to Qualifier 2
CHENNAI: Akash Madhwal came into this match as a yorker specialist who was doing a good job of trying to fill the void left by Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer's absence.
By the end, though, he showed how lethal he can be as a good old-fashioned back-of-the-length seam bowler too. The 29-year-old from Uttarakhand came up with an inspired spell and his maiden fifer on Wednesday night to bamboozle the Lucknow Super Giants and end their campaign on a rather tame note.
Madhwal's exemplary figures of 3.3-5-5, combined with three freak run-outs handed Lucknow an 81-run thrashing and propelled the Mumbai Indians to a Qualifier-2 meeting with the Gujarat Titans.
1/10:IPL 2023: Akash's 5/5 helps Mumbai Indians knock out Lucknow Super Giants
TNN
2/10:Akash Madhwal
<p>Akash Madhwal took five wickets for as many runs to lead Mumbai Indians to a crushing 81-run win in the Eliminator and knock Lucknow Super Giants out of IPL on Wednesday. </p>ANI
3/10:Green SKY
<p>Cameron Green (41) and Suryakumar Yadav (33) put on 66 to help guide five-time champions Mumbai to 182/8 after they elected to bat first in Chennai. </p>ANI
4/10:Akash soars in night sky
<p>Madhwal then returned figures of 5/5 in 3.3 overs to dismiss Lucknow for 101 as Mumbai booked a meeting with holders Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2. </p>IANS
5/10:Cameron Green
<p>Green looked in control during a 23-ball knock laced with six fours and one six until his departure. </p>ANI
6/10:MI on the back foot
<p>Naveen-ul-Haq sent back Suryakumar and Green, bowled by a slower off-cutter, in the space of three deliveries to push Mumbai onto the back foot. </p>TNN
7/10:Tilak Varma and Tim David
<p>Tilak Varma hit a quickfire 26 and put up a 43-run stand with Tim David, who was out caught for 13 after unsuccessfully reviewing a full toss for being over waist-height. </p>IANS
8/10:Naveen-ul-Haq
<p>Naveen finished with 4/38 and Yash Thakur took three wickets but despite their efforts Mumbai's impact sub Nehal Wadhera boosted the total with his 12-ball 23. </p>PTI
9/10:3 run outs
<p>Lucknow's innings imploded as they collapsed from 69/2 to be bowled out in 16.3 overs, losing three key wickets to run outs. </p>IANS
10/10:Kyle Mayers
<p>Lucknow lost their openers early including impact player Kyle Mayers for 18 before Marcus Stoinis attempted to pull the chase together in his 27-ball 40. </p>IANSMadhwal bowled quick and straight, either attacking the stumps or going just wide of off stump to cramp batters for room. He got good bounce and kept beating the outside edge to seed doubts that eventually resulted in wickets.
His back-to-back dismissals of Ayush Badoni, who he cleaned up, and dangerman Nicholas Pooran was the undoubted turning point of the game.
LSG had a torrid day in terms of running between the wickets, and three major mix-ups sent back key batters like Marcus Stoinis, Deepak Hooda and Krishnappa Gowtham. The self-inflicted damage proved fatal for them as they sank to a humiliating 81-run loss in a chase of 182.
Earlier, the MI innings was one of two halves. The first half saw some fearless batting by Mumbai Indians' top four, aided by what seemed like an uncharacteristically easy-paced Chepauk track.
1/10:Akash Madhwal: An engineer who used to play tennis-ball cricket
PTI
2/10:Akash Madhwal
<p>An engineer by profession, Akash Madhwal learned the game while playing tennis-ball cricket in Uttarakhand and is now the star of Mumbai Indians' bowling arsenal. </p>PTI
3/10:5/5 in 3.3 overs
<p>Madhwal took 5/5 in 3.3 overs to lead Mumbai Indians to a crushing 81-run win in the Eliminator and knock out Lucknow Super Giants on Wednesday. </p>ANI
4/10:Unbelievable figures
<p>Madhwal not only registered the best bowling figures in the IPL by an uncapped player, but also the best bowling figures in IPL playoffs. </p>IANS
5/10:Grabbing the chance
<p>With Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer both out injured, the previously unheralded Madhwal has grabbed his chance with both hands. </p>IANS
6/10:Captain calling
<p>Madhwal joined Mumbai last year as an injury replacement but remained confined to playing practice matches, before skipper Rohit Sharma introduced him to the big stage this season. </p>AP
7/10:Civil engineer
<p>Madhwal was working as a civil engineer when he quit a steady job and joined his state team, before the IPL came calling. </p>AP
8/10:4/37 vs SRH
<p>Madhwal's feat on Wednesday came on the back of 4/37 against Sunrisers Hyderabad -- eclipsed only by Cameron Green's match-winning 100 not out. </p>ANI
9/10:Accuracy and grit
<p>Standing at five feet, nine inches, Madhwal is not your usual tall and burly fast bowler, but his accuracy and grit more than makes up for the lack of size. </p>PTI
10/10:RCB loss, MI gain
<p>Madhwal played as a net bowler for Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2019 before joining Mumbai in the same capacity. </p>APThe second half contradictingly saw Naveen-ul-Haq showing faith in the inherent nature of surfaces here, using a variety of slower deliveries to outwit MI batters and keep denting them at regular intervals.
In the end, Nehal Wadhera's inventive slogging in the 20th over took MI to a good total on a pitch which got increasingly difficult to bat.
A square-cut boundary by Ishan Kishan off the game's first ball signalled MI's approach straight away. Ishan and skipper Rohit Sharma fell early, but Cameron Green and Suryakumar Yadav carried on with the aggressive intent after the opening pair's departure, and did not seem to face much difficulty in hitting through the line. With the ball coming on to the bat much better than it did the previous night, both Green and Surya were able to play the kind of free-flowing strokes they would have at Wankhede.
While Green drove and cut with élan through the off side, Surya hit a couple of audacious pulls over the wicketkeeper's head for six. Both seemed to be taking MI to a formidable total when Naven-ul-Haq disrupted their plans with a double blow in the 11th over. He first sent back Surya with a leg-cutter that was devoid of any pace, resulting in the batter lobbing an intended drive to long off. The pacer then foxed Green with an off-cutter that came back in to rattle his stumps.
The dismissals decelerated the innings and brought LSG well and truly back in the game. Tilak Varma and Tim David took some time to regroup and were looking to build a partnership when Tim holed out to long on off a high Yash Thakur full toss.
Nehal Wadhera (23 off 12 balls) came on as the impact substitute in place of Surya and did his job well, finding the fence thrice in the final over which all but took the game away from Lucknow.
