Rajasthani hitman Mukul Choudhary powers LSG to last-ball win over KKR
Mukul Choudhary smashed an unbeaten 54 off 27 balls to give Lucknow Super Giants a three-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL.
Mukul Choudhary smashed an unbeaten 54 off 27 balls to give Lucknow Super Giants a three-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL.
Mukul Choudhary smashed an unbeaten 54 off 27 balls to give Lucknow Super Giants a three-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL.
Rajasthani batter Mukul Choudhary announced himself on the IPL stage with an explosive 54 not out off 27 balls to power Lucknow Super Giants to a thrilling last-ball win over Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens on Thursday.
KKR were all set to secure their first win of the season before 21-year-old Choudhary took charge of the situation. Chasing 181/4, LSG needed 54 off the last four overs.
Choudhary hit Vaibhav Arora for a four and a six in the 17th over before fetching a pair of maximum efforts off Kartik Tyagi to set up a thrilling end.
He did not spare the IPL's costliest overseas player, Cameron Green, hitting the Australian for 16 runs in the penultimate over, including two sixes, with the second one smashed over deep mid-wicket.
The job was far from done as Arora came back with LSG needing 14 to win. Avesh Khan got Choudhary on strike with a single, and the youngster lifted a six over deep backward square leg. A couple of dot balls put pressure back on the chasing side, but Choudhary hammered a six over deep cover to level the scores.
He missed the last ball, but the KKR fielders missed a chance to run him out, and LSG sealed a three-wicket win to keep the Shah Rukh Khan-owned side winless. For LSG, the win has propelled them to the fifth position on four points from three matches.
Earlier, the KKR paid the price for a middle-order slump after skipper Ajinkya Rahane (41) and Angkrish Raghuvanshi (45) gave a solid start, adding 84 off 52. KKR lost three wickets between overs 11 and 14, which hurt their momentum.
Rovman Powell (39 not out off 24 balls) and Cameron Green (32 not out off 24 balls) managed to get the hosts to 181, which appeared like a fighting total until Choudhary showed up. Before him, Ayush Badoni set the tone for the chase with a 34-ball 54.
Brief scores: KKR 181/4 in 20 overs (Raghuvanshi 45, Rahane 41, Powell 39 not out, Green 32 not out) lost to LSG 182/7 in 20 overs (Choudhary 54 not out, Ayush Badoni 54, Ankul Roy 2/32, Vaibhav Arora 2/38)