Akash Singh made an immediate impact in his first game of IPL 2026, taking wickets of Sanju Samson, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Urvil Patel, stating that his mindset has always been about taking big wickets. His two big wickets in the powerplay of Ruturaj Gaikwad and in-form Sanju Samson made the difference after CSK went all fiery in the first over. Immediately after the power play, he went on to take the dangerous youngster known for his quickfire innings, Urvil Patel. These three wickets affected CSK’s initial run progress and left them at only 37/2 after the power play. He kept things tight right throughout his spell, bowling four consecutive overs with impressive control and discipline- dominating the powerplay.

Speaking of such an excellent spell after the end of the first innings, Akash Singh said that mindset was very important and his aim was always to take big wickets and dominate the game rather than just playing IPL for the sake of it.

"My mindset is always about getting big wickets because when you come to the IPL, you shouldn’t just come to play - you should come to dominate. That mindset is very important. If you don’t think like that, then in a league like this, where batting is getting stronger every single day, you will always stay behind. You need to stay one step ahead skill-wise, but at the same time, the mental side matters a lot to me. If you don’t dominate mentally in this game, you can’t move forward consistently. That’s why my approach is always to dominate, and honestly, the batter’s name doesn’t matter too much to me. I try to think like I’m bowling in single-wicket cricket, where execution matters the most. In those situations, your body flows naturally, and the ball goes exactly where you want it to.” Akash Singh told the broadcasters.

“ So I focus on execution and going after big wickets. Obviously, getting big batters out gives a different kind of happiness, and if you look at my IPL record, most of my wickets are big players because that’s always been my mindset," he added.

Akash Singh took out a note to celebrate his three-wicket haul against CSK. Here’s what was writte

Lucknow Super Giants pacer Akash Singh picked up 3 wickets and celebrated in style during the IPL 2026 match against Chennai Super Kings in Lucknow on Friday. After each dismissal, Akash reached into his pocket and produced a small handwritten note, which his teammates hurried to read, and the cameraman zoomed in.

"Akki on fire, Akash knows how to take wickets in a T20 game," was the note written on the paper, and Akash Singh revealed it was nothing special but just a self-motivating quote to keep him moving forward. He said that there’s nothing special or deeper meaning to it, but it just helped him to function better, so he kept it in his pockets, and once he took wickets, he proudly flashed it every time.

Akash bowled four overs against CSK, finishing with figures of three wickets for 26 runs.