Chennai: Mumbai Indians (MI) beat the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by 81 runs in Indian Premier League (IPL) Eliminator at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday to set up a clash with Gujarat Titans (GT) in Qualifier 2 on Wednesday. After electing to bat first, MI posted 182/8 riding on Cameron Green's 41 off 23, Suryakumar Yadav's 33 off 20 and a good little cameo towards the end by Nehal Wadhera (23 off 12).
In response, LSG found themselves in a decent position at one stage but Akash Madhwal's record-equalling spell followed by three run-outs completely changed the complexion of the game as Mumbai bowled out LSG for 101 to register a thumping win. Madhwal equalled legendary Anil Kumble's figures of 5/5 in the list of best-ever IPL bowling figures, a list which is topped by Alzarri Joseph who had picked 6 wickets for 12 runs, also while playing for the same franchise way back in 2019.
At one stage, LSG were 69/2 around the 8-over mark and looked set to put up a great fight in the run chase. However, it was the wicket of Krunal Pandya which changed things for the worse for the chasing side. Marcus Stoinis top-scored for Lucknow in the run-chase but became a victim of a run on a night where Mumbai had most things going their way. This is the second straight year where LSG had lost in the Eliminator after a similar result last season.
The result marks the end of the season for Lucknow while MI on the back of a confidence-boosting victory will now head to Ahmedabad with Gujarat Titans await them to play the Qualifier 2. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) had earlier beaten GT in Qualifier 1 and have already sealed a place for themselves in the summit clash.