IPL 2023 Eliminator: Akash Madhwal destroys Lucknow Super Giants as Mumbai Indians set up Qualifier 2 vs Gujarat Titans
Mumbai Indians defeated Lucknow Super Giants at the Chepauk on Wednesday to take one more step towards the final of the 2023 Indian Premier League.
MI, the most successful side in IPL history, will now face defending champions Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2 in Ahmedabad on Friday to fight for a place in the title clash against Chennai Super Kings.
The MI victory was orchestrated by Akash Madhwal,who became the first bowler to pick a five-wicket haul in the history of IPL playoffs, Madhwal finished with unbelievable figures of 5 for 5 off 3.3 overs to completely destroy LSG and pave the way for MI to take another step towards another IPL final.
Mumbai Indians have won the IPL a record five times but this was the second time they won an Eliminator. They had lost Eliminators to Chennai Super Kings in 2012 and 2014 and won in 2011 against Kolkata Knight Riders. Like CSK, MI also had a terrible time in 2022 when they finished at the bottom of the points table. MI reached the playoffs after defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad in their final league match and Royal Challengers Bangalore lost to Gujarat Titans on Sunday.
Lucknow Super Giants had lost the Eliminator to Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Eden Gardens in their debut season in 2022 and they could not get past that stage again in 2023 despite some sterling performances throughout the tournament.
Krunal Pandya stepped in as captain after KL Rahul was ruled out due to injury, but their approach in a big match was baffling. Quinton de Kock, one of the most experienced IPL batters, was left out and their running between the wickets was shambolic. Deepak Hooda was the third LSG batter to be run-out after a terrible mix-up with Naveen-ul-Haq.
The Lucknow Super Giants chase was in total disarray after a horrible start. Akash Madhwal, who has stepped up in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer, rocked LSG in the second over of the innings when he removed Prerak Mankad. Kyle Mayers was used as an Impact Player after Lucknow dropped Quinton de Kock, but he could only score 18 before falling to Chris Jordan.
Krunal Pandya was involved in a steadying partnership with Marcus Stoinis but the LSG captain was snared by Piyush Chawla for an 11-ball 8 and then the innings fell apart thanks to some superb bowling and fielding from MI. Akash Madhwal dismissed Ayush Badoni and Nicholas Pooran off successive balls to leave the LSG innings in tatters. The Pooran blow was huge for Lucknow and when Stoinis was run out after a collision with Deepak Hooda because both of them were ball-watching.