IPL 2023: Akash Madhwal smiles in elation after receiving Eliminator match ball in dressing room, Mumbai Indians share clip

Mumbai Indians entered Qualifier 2 of IPL 2023 as they beat Lucknow Super Giants by 81 runs in Eliminator on Wednesday, May 24 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. After opting to bat first, MI posted 182/8 in the first innings as Cameron Green (41 off 23) and Suryakumar Yadav (33 off 20) made good contributions.

In reply, LSG were bundled out for 101 courtesy of a magnificent spell from Akash Madhwal who returned with incredible figures of 5/5 in 3.3 overs. Following his sensational spell, the 29-year-old was presented with the match ball in the dressing room. In a video shared by Mumbai Indians, Madhwal looked delighted holding the ball in his hand and said that there was more to come.

Watch the video here:

Madhwal first dismissed Prerak Mankad in the second over of LSG's innings to give the first strike to MI and later returned in the tenth over to get rid of Ayush Badoni and Nicholas Pooran on consecutive balls to break the back of LSG’s batting. He further dismissed Ravi Bishnoi and Mohsin Khan in the 15^th and 17^th over respectively to complete his five-wicket haul. Notably, his spell is the best bowling performance by an uncapped player in the IPL.

Madhwal is the third-highest wicket-taker for MI in IPL 2023

Earlier, during MI’s last league fixture against Sunrisers Hyderabad, the right-arm seamer picked 4/37 in his four-over spell. In the seven matches so far, Madhwal has picked 13 wickets at an average of 12.84 and an economy of 7.76. The 29-year-old is the third-highest wicket-taker for MI this season, behind Jason Behrendorff (14 wickets) and Piyush Chawla (21 wickets).

Madhwal is certainly the find of the tournament for MI and has done well after the team was marred by injuries to their star seamers Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer. In the absence of big names, young stars such as Madhwal, Nehal Wadhera and Tilak Varma have grabbed the opportunities and have brought MI to Qualifier 2. 

Rohit Sharma and Co. will lock horns with Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2 on May 26 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.