Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan hailed Mumbai Indians’ fast bowling sensation Akash Madhwal for his match-winning performance against Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator on Wednesday. The 29-year-old displayed an outstanding spell of fast bowling picking up his maiden 5-wicket haul in the cash-rich league.
The five-time champions secured an emphatic 81-run win over the Krunal Pandya-led side, as the team was dominant with both bat and ball giving no chance for the Lucknow Super Giants to make a comeback in the game right from the start of the match.
Cricketer-turned-commentator Irfan Pathan was elated by the performance of Akash Madhwal in the eliminator game and took to his social media account to praise the five-time champions’ scouting system.
“MI ek esi university hai jaha ki graduation Apko super star Banati hai (Graduation from Mumbai Indians makes you a superstar),” Pathan tweeted.
The five-time champions fast-bowling unit looked vulnerable, especially in the absence of their star pacer Jasprit Bumrah and the injury to Jofra Archer, but it seems like Mumbai Indians have an unearthed new pacer in the form of Akash Madhwal, who has taken the responsibility in his shoulder to perform for the side in the business end of the tournament.
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 to change to match completely in the favour of his team.
Speaking to the media, after their thumping win over Lucknow Super Giants, Akash Madhwal said that he was given clarity about his role in the team and reckons that he would try to continue working on the process to fulfil his responsibilities for the team.
“I was given the clarity of my role with the team. I have to continue the process I was following and had the surety that I would get opportunities next season. That was very clear,” he added.
“I am trying my best to fulfill the responsibilities given to me by the team. I am not Bumrah’s replacement but I’m trying my best to do what I can,”
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. Madhwal joined the squad in the year 2022 when Suryakumar Yadav was ruled out of the league and was retained by Mumbai Indians in IPL 2023.
Mumbai Indians will take on defending champions Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2 in the famous Narendra Modi Stadium on May 26 and the stakes on the game will be high as both the teams will fight for a place in the grand final against Chennai Super Kings on Sunday.