Mumbai Indians edge closer to another IPL final

Lucknow reached 69-2 in the ninth over of the chase, but lost eight wickets for 32 runs to crumble to 101 all out.

Mumbai will now play Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2 for a place in the final.

After opting to bat first, Mumbai started well, although captain Rohit Sharma and fellow opener Ishan Kishan fell inside the powerplay.

The strokeplay of Green and Suryakumar, though, kept the run-rate high.

It was hovering around 10-an-over before Naveen-ul-Haq, having already dismissed Rohit, removed both Suryakumar and Green with a pair of superb slower balls in the 11th over.

Lucknow managed to slow Mumbai for the next few overs but, after being subbed in, impact player Nehal Wadhera hit a quickfire 23 from 12 balls to take the Indians to an above-par total.

Madhwal struck in the second over of the reply to remove Prerak Mankad and England seamer Chris Jordan ousted Kyle Mayers two overs later.

But Lucknow quickly rebuilt with Marcus Stoinis and skipper Krunal Pandya at the crease.

Just as the Super Giants looked in a position to kick on, though, the innings unravelled.

Akash Madhwal proved most difficult to score off on the night•May 24, 2023•Associated Press