Mumbai Indians’ Akash Madhwal celebrates a wicket during the Eliminator match against Lucknow Super Giants of the Indian Premier League 2023, at MA Chidambaram Stadium, in Chennai on May 24, 2023.
| Photo Credit: ANI
Mumbai Indians quick Akash Madhwal demolished Lucknow Super Giants with a fiery 5-wicket haul for a paltry 5 runs in the IPL 2023 Eliminator, equalling a record long held by the legendary India leg-spinner Anil Kumble and becoming the first bowler to grab a five-for in an IPL playoff match.
Madhwal took the wickets of Prerak Mankad, Ayush Badoni, Nicholas Pooran, Ravi Bishnoi and Mohsin Khan to snuff out the LSG chase and script an 81-run win for the Mumbai Indians.
In a tweet, Kumble praised and congratulated the 29-year-old fast bowler for turning up in a high-pressure game. “Welcome to the 5/5 club” wrote the former India captain and coach. Kumble had achieved his feat against the Rajasthan Royals in the 2009 IPL season played in South Africa.
Who is Akash Madhwal?
Uttarakhand-born Madhwal was brought in to fill in for the injured Suryakumar Yadav at MI during the IPL 2022 season. He was retained by the team at his base price of ₹20 lakh.
Madhwal was first spotted in 2019 by former India opener Wasim Jaffer, when the latter had been coaching the Uttarakhand team. He was then signed by Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2021, but only served as a nets bowler and was unable to break into the team.
He then joined MI in 2022 and became the first player representing Uttarakhand to play in the IPL.
With injuries to Jofra Archer and Jasprit Bumrah hitting the Mumbai team hard, Madhwal stepped up, picking up 13 wickets in the 7 games he has played.
Only Alzarri Joseph, Sohail Tanvir and Adam Zampa (6 wickets each) now have better bowling figures in IPL history after Kumble and Madhwal’s 5-for-5.