IPL 2023 | Twitter reacts as MI book a place in Qualifier 2 after dominant 81-run victory over LSG

IPL 2023 | Twitter reacts as MI book a place in Qualifier 2 after dominant 81-run victory over LSG

SportsCafe Desk

By SportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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Mumbai Indians cruised past Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator on Wednesday to set up Qualifier 2 against Gujarat Titans. The five-time champions set a target of 183 before Akash Madhwal’s excellent figures of 5/5 guided them to knock over the Super Giants for 101 with 21 balls to spare.

Lucknow Super Giants put up an embarrassing show altogether against Mumbai Indians, as they were never really in the contest after coming to chase 183. The decision of dropping Quinton de Kock, possibly because of his poor IPL records at Chepauk, backfired, as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals after losing their first inside two overs. Prerak Mankad was the first man to be dismissed, and Kyle Mayers followed him nine balls later. Still, courtesy of Marcus Stoinis’ wide range of strokes, they managed to muster 54 runs when the fielding restrictions were in place. However, not a single LSG player stepped up to support Stoinis to get the job done, which eventually led them to be folded for a paltry total inside 16.3 overs. Akash Madhwal was the star of the show, claiming the best figures by an uncapped player in the tournament’s history, to lead a disciplined MI bowling performance from the front. 

On a slowish Chepauk track, Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma got MI off to a decent start after the latter opted to bat first. The duo added 29 runs off 18 balls against LSG’s spin duo of Krunal Pandya and Krishnappa Gowtham, and their aggressive batting forced Krunal to bring Naveen-ul-Haq early in the fourth over. The Afghanistani made an instant impact by dismissing Rohit on his second ball to help LSG gain some traction in the game. However, Cameron Green began the innings where he left off at the Wankhede three days ago and despite Ishan falling in the following over, the Aussie managed to find boundaries at regular intervals. Suryakumar Yadav joined hands to provide him with fitting support, as they raced to 62/2 at the end of the Powerplay. The carnage continued till the 10th over with the run rate going at almost 10 runs an over before Naveen (4/38) came back and dismissed both in the space of three balls. However, brisk cameos from Nehal Wadhera (23 off 12) and Tilak Varma (26 off 22), coupled with Tim David’s run-a-ball 13, ensured MI managed to reach an above-par score of 182/8.

Mango time!

Fabulous

True

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Repeat

Surprise

Correct

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