Mumbai Indians crushed Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League Eliminator thanks to Akash Madhwal’s incredible 5-5 stats.
Suryakumar Yadav, who struck 33 from 20, and Cameron Green, who scored 41 from 23 balls, combined for 66 runs to help the five-time winners reach 182-8.
In the ninth over of the chase, Lucknow was 69-2, but after losing eight wickets for 32 runs, they were all out at 101. For a spot in the championship, Mumbai will now compete against Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2. Mumbai performed well in the early going after choosing to bat first, despite the loss of both openers Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma during the powerplay.
But Green and Suryakumar helped to maintain a strong run rate. After dismissing Rohit, Naveen-ul-Haq removed Suryakumar and Green with a pair of excellent slower balls in the 11th over when the score was hanging around 10-an-over.
For the following few overs, Lucknow was able to slow Mumbai down, but once Nehal Wadhera was brought in, he quickly scored 23 runs off 12 balls to help the Indians to an above-average total. Prerak Mankad was dismissed by Madhwal in the second over of the reply, while Kyle Mayers was dismissed by England seamer Chris Jordan two overs later. But with Marcus Stoinis and captain Krunal Pandya at the crease, Lucknow swiftly recovered.
The Super Giants appeared to be in a strong position to continue, but the innings collapsed. The collapse began when Pandya holed out to Piyush Chawla, and in the following over, Madhwal claimed two wickets in two balls to dismiss Nicholas Pooran and Krishnappa Gowtham.
The conclusion was all but sealed when Stoinis was needlessly run out for 40, and two more run-outs followed until Madhwal trapped Mohsin Khan midway through the 17th over to secure an impressive victory.
What is the schedule for the IPL playoffs?
There are currently only three teams left in contention for the IPL championship after Lucknow was eliminated. In Qualifier 2, Mumbai will compete against Gujarat Titans, the reigning champions who fell short in Qualifier 1. The winner would then compete against Chennai Super Kings in the final on Sunday in Ahmedabad.
