By CS Chiwanza.
Akask Madhwal was at his sensational best as he led the charge to help Mumbai Indians restrict Lucknow Super Giants to 101 in 16.3 overs and record a comprehensive 81-run win in their Tata India Premier League encounter at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, on Wednesday.
MI will now meet Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2 in Ahmedabad on Friday.
Cameron Green is riding a wave of good form and his classy 41 off 23 that featured six fours and a single six was instrumental in MI reaching 182 for eight. The Australian allrounder is proving to be a good investment for MI, he came into this tie on the back of a match-winning century and top-scored in this outing.
However, MI’s star was Akash Madhwal. The 29-year-old engineer brilliantly engineered LSG’s downfall. He was on fire as he recorded his career-best IPL bowling figures with five wickets for five runs in 3.3 overs. Madhwal. His maiden IPL five-wicket haul could not have come at a better time.
Madhwal now joins Anil Kumble as the two bowlers with the best bowling figures in the history of the IPL. Madhwal filled the void in the MI camp left by the injuries of their star bowlers.
When Madhwal was not taking wickets, MI was executing brilliant run-outs. LSG lost three wickets to run-outs. Rohit Sharma put on a masterclass in ground fielding as he played a vital part in two run-outs, while Tim David and Ishan Kishan combined for the other one.
Green arrived at the crease after 3.2 overs and MI was in trouble after losing their captain, Rohit Sharma, for 11 off 10. MI found themselves in deeper trouble when Ishan Kishan was dismissed six balls later.
However, the loss of early wickets did not make the MI batters retreat into their shells. MI reacted to the setback by stitching together an industrious 62-run partnership between Green and Suryakumar Yadav (33 off 20). During the course of their partnership, they raced to a 28-ball 50-run partnership in a high-octane innings that featured a flurry of boundaries.
Naveen-ul-Haq showed why he is a contender for the Emerging Player of the Year award by taking wickets when LSG needed them the most. Naveen recorded a career-best four for 38 in four overs. The Afghanistan international did not just break Green and Suryakumar’s marauding partnership, he dismissed both batters to bring LSG back into the game.
After the wickets, 180 was looking like a bridge too far, but Nehal Wadhera came in at the death as an impact player and lifted MI to 182 with a brilliant 23 from 12.
LSG’s run chase ran into Madhwal early on. Madhwal put MI on the front foot with the dismissal of Prerak Mankad in the second over. During the early part of the tournament, Kyle Mayers (18) made a name for himself as a swashbuckling replacement for Quinton de Kock. The West Indies player played one way, and that was attacking. Mayers kept the foot on the pump and that led to his early dismissal shortly afterwards.
LSG deployed their highest run-scorer of the season in response. Marcus Stoinis came out swinging. The big Australian was looking good for a fourth half-century of the season before MI strung together three good overs that stemmed the run rate. LSG went from 69 for three to 92 for seven in 4.1 overs. Stoinis (40 off 27) was one of the two players run-out in a space of four deliveries. Mayers and Deepak Hooda (15) were the only two other LSG batters to reach double figures.
Piyush Chawla and Chris Jordan took a wicket each in support of Madhwal’s brilliant performance.
LUCKNOW SUPER GIANTS: Prerak Mankad, Krunal Pandya (capt), Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Deepak Hooda, K Gowtham, Naveen-ul-Haq, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohsin Khan, Yash Thakur.
MUMBAI INDIANS: Rohit Sharma (capt), Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Tim David, Tilak Varma, Cameron Green, Chris Jordan, Hrithik Shokeen, Akash Madhwal, Piyush Chawla, Jason Behrendorff.