Akash Singh, the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) pacer, played his first match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season on Friday as he was named in the playing XI for the fixture against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Ekana. The left-arm pacer left an immediate impact as he dismissed openers, Ruturaj Gaikwad (13) and Sanju Samson (20), and No.3 batter Urvil Patel to leave the visitors reeling. However, the biggest talking point came when he came out with a chit after dismissing all three batters.
Akash, 24, first struck on the fifth delivery of the fourth over as he sent the CSK captain Ruturaj back to the hut. The pacer bowled a back-of-length delivery, and it hurried Gaikwad, who went for a pull shot. However, the ball hit the higher part of the bat and the ball lobbed towards mid-on, and Nicholas Pooran took a simple catch.
He then got on the wicket-taking charts once again in the final over of the powerplay, dismissing the in-form batter Samson on the third delivery. The back-of-a-length delivery once again came to the rescue of Akash as Samson played the ball straight into the hands of Mukul Choudhary in the deep.
On both occasions, Akash displayed the handwritten note, and even his teammates were seen eagerly reading the text. At the time, former West Indies pacer Ian Bishop was on commentary, and said, “Can’t really read.” However, the night just got better for Akash from here on, as he went on to take another wicket, dismissing the dangerous Urvil Patel for six runs. And just like earlier, the note came out once again.
However, soon after, replays popped up on the broadcast, and one could make out what was written on the piece of paper. “#Akki on fire – Akash knows how to take wickets in a T20 game,” the text read.
Impressive spell
Akash had a memorable day at the office, and he bowled his quota of four overs straight up. He eventually finished with figures of 3/26 and emerged as the standout performer for the hosts in the bowling department.
Before the match against CSK in IPL 2026, Akash Singh had played 10 matches in the tournament, taking nine wickets.
Speaking of the IPL 2026 match between CSK and LSG, Rishabh Pant won the toss and opted to bowl first.
“As a team, we have a lot to achieve. We are a team, we run on trust, and that is something we are looking forward to. We are trying a few things for the next season for sure. And just looking to give our 200% regardless of anything,” said Pant at the toss.
“There is no running away from the way we have played this season. But at the same time, there is a lot of positive what we can take because, we are a little frustrated as a team because we know we have it in the team. We can make it happen and sometimes things doesn’t work your way, but at the same time, no complaints from that side,” he added.