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.

Lasith Malinga@malinga_ninety9

An unbelievable performance from Akash Madhwal🔥👏 Not an easy task to perform the way he did in a crunch game. MI has unearthed a bowler with a bright future🙌 #LSGvMI #IPL2023

11:41 PM · May 24, 2023

8618

Robin Aiyuda Uthappa@robbieuthappa

Akash Madhwal take a bow!! What a find from @mipaltan!! 👏🏾 Top class bowling in a high pressure game! Brilliantly batted from @CameronGreen_, @surya_14kumar & Wadhera and well bowled by Piyush & Jordan!! @imnaveenulhaq too good tonight!! #GTvMI will be an exciting contest!!

11:32 PM · May 24, 2023

43953

Anil Kumble@anilkumble1074

Great bowling in a high pressure game, Akash Madhwal. Welcome to the 5/5 club 👏🏾 @mipaltan @JioCinema

11:34 PM · May 24, 2023

1.3K238

Jasprit Bumrah@Jaspritbumrah93

What a spell from Akash Madhwal🔥🔥🔥. Congratulations @mipaltan, great win 🙌🏾

11:27 PM · May 24, 2023

16930

Yusuf Pathan@iamyusufpathan

Dominating victory by @mipaltan. Credit to #AkashMadhwal for standing tall to take his side to qualifier 2. #RohitSharma continues his smart captaincy. #IPL2023 #LSGvMI

11:24 PM · May 24, 2023

9910

Rahul Sharma@ImRahulSharma3

#nehalwadhera ⭐️ 💙 @mipaltan @IPL

11:24 PM · May 24, 2023

71

Virender Sehwag@virendersehwag

Akash Madhwal 5 wickets in the eliminator after the 4 he took in the last league game which was a do or die game . Such a delight to see newcomers doing well. This is the season where many of the experience guys have had a great season and many newcomers have made a big mark.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

11:24 PM · May 24, 2023

3.8K333

Sanjay Manjrekar@sanjaymanjrekar

Akash Madhwal what a performance! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 Showed the potential earlier in the season when he conceded just 6 runs in the 20th over v RCB at Wankhede. Tonight he hit his peak!

11:24 PM · May 24, 2023

28215

Yuzvendra Chahal@yuzi_chahal

What a spell 👏 💙

11:23 PM · May 24, 2023

3.6K410

Irfan Pathan@IrfanPathan

Chahe Kitne bhi saal ki ye puraani franchise kyon ho jaae. Sab se upar @ImRo45 Ka naam rahega. What a leader they have 👏

11:21 PM · May 24, 2023

2.3K577

Mohammad Kaif@MohammadKaif

Rohit shows great captaincy is also about being practical. MI has mostly won chasing in this IPL but for the high-pressure eliminator, Rohit opts to bat. He didn't go by stats, he played smart. @ImRo45

11:20 PM · May 24, 2023

2K695

Yusuf Pathan@iamyusufpathan

Top-class bowling by #AkashMadhwal. #MI's scouting deserves a 10/10. #IPL2023 #LSGvMI

10:42 PM · May 24, 2023

2.9K343

Venkatesh Prasad@venkateshprasad

Akash Madhwal ensures a new team won’t be winning the IPL. Fabulous performance by him in the last 2 games and a great win for Mumbai. #LSGvMI

11:27 PM · May 24, 2023

27223

Ranveer Singh@RanveerOfficial

Nehal Wadhera has been clutch 🏏 Akash Madhwal has made a mark ☄️ Tilak Varma gave MI’s campaign early impetus 🏏 MI’s young crop are killers! 🦈🦈🦈 @mipaltan @StarSportsIndia #IPLonStar #LSGvMI #akashmadhwal #TilakVarma #nehalwadhera twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

11:24 PM · May 24, 2023

77493

Rahul Sharma@ImRahulSharma3

#akashmadhwal u beauty what a spell boy 💙👌👌🫡 @mipaltan @IPL

11:29 PM · May 24, 2023

91