IPL 2023: Gautam Gambhir Left Stunned After Akash Madhwal Tears Through LSG Batting

Lucknow Super Giants mentor Gautam Gambhir was left stunned after watching the bowling masterclass of Mumbai Indians pacer Akash Madhwal.

The uncapped Madhwal stole the limelight at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium as LSG squared against MI in the IPL 2023 Eliminator.

Thanks to his his exceptional five-wicket haul, Mumbai picked up a commanding 81-run victory and advanced to the second Qualifier.

The game remained in the balance till Madhwal sent off Ayush Badoni and Nicholas Pooran in two back-to-back deliveries in the 10th over of Lucknow’s batting. Following Madhwal’s game-changing over, Gambhir was captured sitting with an irked reaction at the Lucknow dugout.

Considering the slower nature of Chepauk’s wicket, bowlers were expected to play a dominant role.

Madhwal did not disappoint. He opened the account with an early wicket of Lucknow opener Prerak Mankad.

When Marcus Stoinis and Badoni tried to settle down a bit, Madhwal stepped in to give Lucknow two consecutive blows in the 10th over.

He first uprooted the stumps of Badoni and then trapped just-arrived batter Nicholas Pooran with a slower delivery.

Towards the second phase of the chase, Ravi Bishnoi and Mohsin Khan fell victim to Madhwal.

The Uttarakhand pacer not only picked up five important wickets but was also quite economical. During his 3.3 overs, Madhwal conceded just 5 runs.

With a bowling figure of 5/5, the 29-year-old matched the record of legendary Indian spinner Anil Kumble for conceding the least runs along with a five-wicket haul.

Demolished by Mumbai’s lethal bowling show, Lucknow concluded their innings at 101 runs. Only three batters from the Lucknow unit managed a double-digit score. The only notable score came from Stoinis’ bat as the Aussie all-rounder made a quick 40 off 27 balls.

Among other Mumbai bowlers, Chris Jordan and Piyush Chawla grabbed one wicket each.

Mumbai signed Madhwal at his base price of Rs 20 lakh ahead of the IPL 2022.

After some first-team bowlers were ruled out of this season due to injury issues, Mumbai decided to test the calibre of Madhwal and the he succeeded.

In his 7 appearances so far, Madhwal has picked up 13 wickets in total.

Post the Lucknow game, the Uttarakhand pacer labelled Pooran’s wicket as the “most pleasing one for him.”