Mumbai Indians speedster Akash Madhwal believes that his best yet to come in the Indian Premier League as he rattled the Gujarat Titans openers Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill in the Wankhede Stadium on Friday. The 29-year-old played a pivotal role by picking up three wickets in the game against the defending champions.
The five-time champions fast-bowling unit looked vulnerable, especially in the absence of their star pacer Jasprit Bumrah and the recent injury to Jofra Archer. The Rohit Sharma side tried many options with the likes of Arjun Tendulkar, Riley Meredith, and Arshad Khan but could not control the damage at the end of the overs.
In defending the total of 218 runs, Akash Madhwal bowled brilliantly with the new ball to dismiss the GT openers in quick time which eventually helped the five-time champions to pick up wickets in regular intervals. Speaking to the media, after their win against GT, Madhwal said that he had practised in the tough dew conditions and credited their skipper Rohit Sharma for providing valuable inputs during his bowling.
“I have bowled in the past in the dew. So it wasn’t much tough. We have practiced in these conditions and it helped me. Rohit bhaiya asked me to bowl hard lengths and it got me rewards,” Akash Madhwal said.
Madhwal said that their star batter Suryakumar Yadav bats in the same way in the nets and added that he waited for his opportunity to play at the highest level for the last three years.
“I have bowled him in the nets but he bats incredibly. I was waiting for three years for this opportunity and I’m enjoying my time,” he added.
The Uttarkhand-born pacer has so far played four games for the Mumbai Indians and took 4 wickets at an economy rate of 9.50. Madhwal joined the squad in the year 2022 when Suryakumar Yadav was ruled out of the league owing to a left forearm muscle injury and was retained by Mumbai Indians in IPL 2023.
These Won’t Be My Best Figures In IPL… – Akash Madhwal
Akash Madhwal feels his best figures are yet to come in the cash-rich league as he wants to do well for his team in the forthcoming matches, the 29-year old alongside Jason Benhrendorff and Chris Jordan are closely getting into their usual best and their form will be crucial for the five-time champions going forward into the tournament.
“These won’t be my best figures in IPL as the best is yet to come,” Akash Madhwal added.
With the win over Gujarat Titans, Mumbai Indians have moved to the Number three position with seven wins in the league stage and will look to do well in their final two league games to give themselves the best chance to qualify for the top 2 spots for the playoffs.