The MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai witnessed an exhilarating match between the Mumbai Indians and the Lucknow Super Giants during the IPL 2023 Eliminator on Wednesday. Before this, Qualifier 1 between the Gujarat Titans and the Chennai Super Kings also took place at the same venue, where the four-time champions emerged victorious. The tournament will now proceed to Ahmedabad, where Qualifier 2 and the final match will be held. As the Chennai leg of the playoffs concluded, renowned commentator Harsha Bhogle expressed his gratitude to the people of the city for their warm hospitality.
In a tweet, Bhogle wrote, “Thank you Chennai. I met such polite and welcoming people. Such a stark and happy difference from the toxicity and personal abuse from a specific set of people in recent times.” His tweet quickly gained popularity as people shared their opinions and engaged in discussions in the comments section.
Turning the focus to the Eliminator match, relatively unknown Uttarakhand engineer Akash Madhwal delivered an exceptional performance with a five-wicket haul, propelling the Mumbai Indians one step closer to the summit clash as they defeated the Lucknow Super Giants by a massive margin of 81 runs.
Batting first, the Mumbai Indians posted a total of 182 for 8 in their allotted 20 overs. Although it appeared slightly insufficient given the explosive batting lineup of Lucknow, Madhwal’s incredible figures of 5 wickets for just 5 runs in 3.3 overs, along with excellent ground fielding led by captain Rohit Sharma, caused the Gautam Gambhir-led side to collapse for a mere 101 runs in 16.3 overs.
Next, the Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians will face the Gujarat Titans on Friday in the second Qualifier in Ahmedabad, where the opponent for the Chennai Super Kings in the highly anticipated final on Sunday will be decided. Cricket enthusiasts are eagerly looking forward to these upcoming matches, as the IPL 2023 season approaches its thrilling end.
