Mumbai Indians defeated Lucknow Super Giants at the Chepauk on Tuesday to advance to the 2023 Indian Premier League championship game. The most successful team in IPL history, MI, will now compete in Qualifier 2 in Ahmedabad on Friday against the reigning champions, Gujarat Titans, for a spot in the championship match versus Chennai Super Kings.
Akash Madhwal, who concluded with figures of 5 for 5 off to absolutely decimate the LSG innings, masterminded the MI victory. This five-wicket haul is also the joint-cheapest in an IPL playoff.
The Mumbai Indians have a record-setting five IPL championships, but this was only their second Eliminator victory. In 2012 and 2014, they suffered elimination losses to Chennai Super Kings, although they had triumphed in 2011 over Kolkata Knight Riders. Like CSK, MI had a poor year in 2022, finishing last in the points standings. When MI defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad in their last season game and Royal Challengers Bangalore fell to Gujarat Titans on Sunday, MI qualified for the playoffs.
In spite of some excellent performances throughout the tournament, Lucknow Super Giants were unable to go past that stage in 2023. They had lost the Eliminator against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Eden Gardens in their initial season in 2022, and they were unable to do so again. After KL, Krunal Pandya took over as captain.
Rahul was unable to play due to injury, but their strategy in a crucial game was puzzling. One of the most seasoned IPL batsmen, Quinton de Kock, was left out, and their running between the wickets was terrible. After a dreadful mix-up with Naveen-ul-Haq, Deepak Hooda became the third LSG hitter to be run out.
After a disastrous beginning, the Lucknow Super Giants chase was in complete disarray. When Prerak Mankad was removed in the second over of the innings by Akash Madhwal, who has stepped up in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer, LSG was shocked. After Lucknow dropped Quinton de Kock, Kyle Mayers was used as an impact player, however, he could only score 18 points before losing to Chris Jordan.
