Match Center

Right then, at the start of the week, we had four teams vying for a spot in the final and Chennai have already made it through. Lucknow are out and now it's down to two teams - Mumbai and Gujarat to battle it out in Qualifier 2 and make a claim for a spot in the final. That game will be played on Friday, the 26th of May in Ahmedabad and will begin at 7.30 pm IST (2 pm GMT). It is set up to be an enticing battle and our build-up to it will begin a lot earlier as well. Do join us and till then, take care and goodbye!

Akash Madhwal is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH for his sensational figures of 3.3-0-5-5! Madhwal says that he was practising hard and was waiting for this opportunity and also mentions that he was doing engineering but decided to pursue his passion for playing cricket and is happy that it has come off. Adds that the coaches and management set up certain executions for them in the nets and that's what he focuses on. Says that he is proud of himself and hopes that the team goes on and wins the trophy. On comparisons with Jasprit Bumrah, he says that he is happy with the comparison but he still has a long way to go. Ends by saying that Pooran's wicket was his favourite and his family would also be proud of him.

Rohit Sharma, the skipper of Mumbai, says that people do not expect them to do what they have done but they manage to do it somehow. Mentions that they knew had a lot of work to do at the start. On Akash Madhwal, he says that he was part of the team as a support bowler last season. Adds that they knew what he had. Feels that once Jofra Archer was gone they needed someone to bowl at the death. Shares that he has the skills and character to do the job. Also says that it is important to make young guys feel special and make them feel part of the team. Shares that they enjoyed fielding and it was good to see everyone contributing on the field. Mentions that they knew the whole team would be needed to come to the party here in Chennai.

The Presentation ceremony...

Cameron Green is in for a chat. He says that it is a pretty good feeling and feels that it was their most complete game. Adds that it is nice that everything is going well and clicking at the moment. Mentions that Akash Madhwal has been a game changer for them. Shares that they had a poor day in the field in the last game and their coach had spoken about hunting in the pack. Feels that is important to bring that energy while bowling second. On Akash Madhwal, he says that ever since he came in, they realized he is special. Adds that he is not overawed by the stage despite playing in his first Indian T20 League season. States that Gujarat are the best team in the competition and it is going to be a tough challenge on their home turf.

Krunal Pandya, the skipper of Lucknow, says that they were in a really good position and adds that everything started from where he played that shot. He says that he takes full responsibility and blames himself for it. Mentions that the wicket was good and the ball came on nicely. Reckons that the wicket remained the same throughout and they just had to bat better. On Quinton de Kock's exclusion, he says that he is a quality player and it was a tough call to leave him out. Adds that Kyle Mayers' record here was great so they went with him. Shares that the Mumbai batters bat well against pace so he thought of starting with spin.

Earlier in the game, Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bat first as he thought the wicket would get slower later on and this decision was spot on. Mumbai lost two early wickets but then Cameron Green and Suryakumar Yadav started to take on the bowling and got away a lot of boundaries. Both of them fell but useful contributions from Tilak Varma and then the Impact Player Nehal Wadhera toward the end got them to a commanding total. For Lucknow, it was about bowling well in patches but whenever Naveen-ul-Haq came on, he got wickets, ending up with four in total. Yash Thakur got three wickets as well and did an excellent job but their spinners couldn't make much of an impact. Coming to the chase, it was all Mumbai as only three Lucknow batters got to double-figures and only Marcus Stoinis got over the 20-run mark as he made 40. Mumbai were clinical with the ball and in the field and bundled out Lucknow for just 101 runs with Akash Madhwal picking up five wickets for just 5 runs.

Lucknow will be scratching their heads trying to figure out what happened in the last hour or so as they went from being in a decent position to just bundling over in a matter of a few minutes. They didn't have an idle start with the bat as Prerak Mankad and Kyle Mayers both got out early. Krunal Pandya and Marcus Stoinis then steadied the ship with the latter striking the ball cleanly. Krunal though never got going and eventually got out and this opened the floodgates for Lucknow. Ayush Badoni and Nicholas Pooran got out soon after and then came the most unbelievable phase of the game which included three run-outs. Deepak Hooda was involved in all three of them but the first one, which saw Stoinis collide with Hooda and then walk off was the most damaging one. In the end, they were all out inside 17 overs and fell a long way short of the target.

After putting on a big total of 182 runs on a pitch that seemed more suited to the bowlers, Mumbai were able to pick up a couple of wickets in the Powerplay. For a while, they weren't able to get wickets but once they got rid of Krunal Pandya, they were able to get wickets in a heap. Akash Madhwal bowled a sensational spell as he sent back Ayush Badoni and Nicholas Pooran off consecutive deliveries and put Mumbai in command. Excellent out-fielding coupled with a few judgment errors from the Lucknow batters, Mumbai inflicted three run-outs. Madhwal then rounded up a five-star performance by picking up a five-wicket haul and getting the final wicket of the game as well. All in all, a perfect game for Mumbai.

MUMBAI STAY ALIVE! What a resounding performance from the five-time champions as they pick up their first-ever win against Lucknow and for them, it couldn't have come at a better time. Just like Chennai, Mumbai have once again proved their mettle in the playoffs and have now set a date against Gujarat in Qualifier 2.

OUT! TIMBER! Akash Madhwal ends with a five-wicket haul and finishes things off for Mumbai! Comes from 'round the wicket and nails the yorker, on the off stump, Mohsin Khan clears his front leg and swings through the line. He misses and sees his off stump pegged back. Joy on the faces of Mumbai players and fans but dismay on the faces of the Lucknow players. This has been a dominating 81-run win by Rohit Sharma and Co.

Length delivery, on middle, Naveen-ul-Haq works this from the inner half of the bat to mid-wicket for a single.

Serves it on a good length, Naveen-ul-Haq uses his feet and pushes it back to the bowler.

Strategic break! Well then, just 4 overs remain and the game seems over for Lucknow as they have just one wicket in hand and need 83 more runs to win. Mumbai had their noses in front in the first half of the chase but the catastrophe that has unfolded in the last few overs for Lucknow has been nothing short of self-destructive. Mumbai have bowled well too and Akash Madhwal has certainly stood out and they are now on the verge of making it through to Qualifier 2.

Back of a length and outside off, Mohsin Khan flays at the delivery but misses. The umpire deems it a wide which is challenged by Rohit Sharma. The replays show that the ball was inside the tramline and it is a fair delivery.

Fuller this time and outside off, Mohsin Khan heaves across the line and connects with thin air.

On a length on middle and leg, Mohsin Khan tucks this one on the leg side for a dot.