Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar pointed out the important aspect in the bowling of the Mumbai Indians pacer Akash Madhwal’s against Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator game on Wednesday. The 29-year-old bowled exceptionally well to pick up his maiden 5-wicket haul in the Indian Premier League.
Mumbai Indians were at the top of their game against the Krunal Pandya-led side, as the team dominated the game right from the start of the match, giving no chance for the Lucknow Super Giants comeback in the game as they secured an emphatic 81-run win to qualify for Qualifier 2 on Friday.
Cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar said that the variations in bowling have become predictable as the batters expect the slower balls in the middle overs and reckons that Madhwal’s success is a shred of evidence that bowling in the right areas in proper line and length led to the success of the Mumbai Indian pacer against LSG.
Manjrekar took to Twitter and wrote, “When variations become predictable, the whole purpose of variation is lost. The element of surprise for the batter is gone. Akash Madhwal’s success is evidence of that. We could be overrating the value of variation.”
And in another tweet, Sanjay Manjrekar hailed that Akash Madhwal is consistent with his performance in this edition of the Indian Premier League as his potential was seen during their game against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Wankhede stadium and reckons that the Indian pacer hit his peak in the Eliminator game.
Manjrekar wrote, “Akash Madhwal, what a performance! Showed the potential earlier in the season when he conceded just 6 runs in the 20th over v RCB at Wankhede. Tonight he hit his peak!”
Akash Madhwal bowled brilliantly with the new ball to dismiss the LSG opener Prerak Mankad which eventually helped the five-time champions to pick up wickets in regular intervals and in the middle overs he picked up the wickets of Ayush Badoni and Nicholas Pooran in the consecutive balls which helped his side to secure win over Krunal Pandya-led side.
The Uttarkhand-born pacer has so far played seven games for the Mumbai Indians and took 13 wickets at an economy rate of 7.76. Mumbai Indians will take on defending champions Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2 in the famous Narendra Modi Stadium on May 26.