Akash Singh's IPL 2026 debut: Three wickets and viral celebration

Akash Singh made an instant impact in his first match of the IPL 2026 season with a strong spell in the powerplay against Chennai Super Kings in Lucknow on Friday. The left-arm pacer removed openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Sanju Samson early to put CSK under pressure. He later dismissed Urvil Patel to complete a three-wicket spell. Akash bowled with pace and discipline, consistently hitting a hard length that made scoring difficult for the CSK top order. After each wicket, the Lucknow Super Giants pacer celebrated by displaying a note that read, “#Akki on fire – Akash knows how to take wickets in T20 game.” The celebration quickly went viral on social media. LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka also praised the young pacer on X. "Akash, three crucial wickets tonight. Well done. The note says it all, you showed exactly how to take those wickets in a T20 game. Keep at it, Akki. Proud of you," Goenka wrote on X. Akash bowled four straight overs and maintained control throughout his spell. His hard-length bowling also played a role in Samson’s dismissal, with the batter trying to pull a rising delivery but failing to get enough timing on the shot. The catch was taken by Mukul Choudhary near the square-leg boundary. After losing wickets early to LSG’s short-ball strategy, Chennai recovered through Kartik Sharma, who scored 71. Kartik and Dewald Brevis added 70 runs for the fourth wicket after CSK had slipped to 52 for three in 7.2 overs. CSK eventually posted 187 for five.