Akash Singh celebrates after taking a wicket. (Photo credit: IPL)
NEW DELHI: Akash Singh made an immediate impact in his first match of IPL 2026 as he dismissed two key Chennai Super Kings batsmen in a power-play and celebrated with a special message that quickly grabbed attention at the Ekana Stadium on Friday.In his first game of the season for Lucknow Super Giants, the left-arm pacer struck in his very second game to remove CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad before returning to dismiss opener Sanju Samson, derailing the visitors after a steady start.A celebration of paper news goes viralAfter dismissing Gaikwad in the third round, Akash reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded act and showed it around the stadium. The report read: “Akki on fire – Akash knows how to take wickets in T20.”The celebration immediately became the topic of conversation, the cameras captured the unusual moment.Gaikwad was dismissed for 13 off 9 balls. He tried to stop the delivery, mistimed the shot and spooned a simple catch to Nicholas Pooran.WATCH:Samson follows, the message returnsAkash came back in the sixth over and struck again. This time Samson, who looked comfortable at the start, swung from the hips straight to Mukul Choudhary’s deep.Samson departed on 20 off 20 balls and Akash repeated the now famous celebration – pulling out the same act and grinning.The double strike reduced CSK from 31 for no loss in 3.4 overs to 36 for 2 in 5.3 overs, shifting the momentum firmly in Lucknow’s favour.An emotional start to the gameBefore the match, players from both teams observed a minute’s silence and wore black armbands to honor the victims of the deadly storm that hit Uttar Pradesh earlier this week, killing over 100.LSG captain Rishabh Pant won the toss and opted to play on a tacky red pitch. With LSG already out of playoff contention, the franchise handed Akash his first outing of the season.The decision immediately paid off as the left-arm hunk turned the spotlight on himself – and made sure everyone noticed his message.
