(3) Akash Madhwal ( 5/5 vs LSG in the eliminator 2023 )
Japrit Bumrah was ruled out of the 2023 IPL due to injury and the Mumbai bowling (MI) line up looked weak without him and with out of form Archer. Akash Madhwal played as the replacement of Bumrah and he was pretty decent in the league stages and had a good Yorker in his armour. His contribution was very crucial for MI to qualify for playoffs.
MI faced one of the new teams Lucknow Super Giants ( LSG ) in the eliminator at Chennai. MI batted first and posted a competitive total of 182 in 20 overs. While chasing, LSG lost wickets at regular intervals. Especially Madhwal ran through their middle order and never allowed LSG to build a partnership and come back in the game. In his 3.3 overs, he just gave 5 runs and picked 5 wickets which also includes removing the dangerous Nicholas Pooran for a golden duck. This remains as the best bowling figure in IPL Playoffs history.
Filling the shoes of a player like Bumrah and bringing up your “A” game in the playoffs is a massive achievement and will remain as a top bowling performance for MI.
(2) Alzarri Joseph ( 12/6 vs SRH in 2019 )
It was a league during the initial phase of that season. MI batted and first and scored 136 runs in 20 overs. With their prime bowler Malinga not playing, MI were already in the backfoot while defending such a low target. Alzarri Joseph who came in as a replacement for Lasith Malinga surprised everyone with his heroic performances.
Alzarri Joseph removed the danger man Warner Warner and took wickets in regular intervals and never allowed any batsman to settle in the crease. MI were so strong that sadly he had rest the bench for the rest of the season as Malinga came back.
He ended up with the best figures in IPL history with 3.4-12-6 breaking the 11 years record of Sohail Tanvir of Rajasthan Royals who took 14/6 in 2008.
(1) Jasprit Bumrah ( 14/2 vs CSK in Final, 2019 )
These numbers might look like a normal figure but the stage he delivered it was very crucial. It was the IPL final and MI was once again playing against their arch rivals CSK. MI batted first and posted 149 runs on the board. Chasing a tricky target CSK started really well initially by scoring 53 runs in the first powerplay.
After that Bumrah came and pushed down the run rate and also picked crucial wickets of Bravo and Rayudu. The pressure he created along with Rahul Chahar in the other end reduced the pace of CSK’s Batting and Mi came back in the game. He also bowled the important penultimate over when 18 runs needed of 12 balls and he conceded just 9 runs that too the boundary went through byes as the keeper missed it. He was awarded the man of the match for his brilliant performance with the ball. MI won the finals with the barest margins of 1 run.