Star Rajasthan and Lucknow Super Giants batter Mukul Choudhary on Thursday smashed a 27-ball 54 to take his team to a thrilling three-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens.
Chasing 182, Kolkata Knight Riders appeared in control until Cameron Green, making his long-awaited bowling debut this season, struck with his second ball to dismiss LSG skipper Rishabh Pant.
But the Aussie all-rounder, short on bowling rhythm after workload management after back surgery, couldn’t deliver at the death.
Entrusted with the penultimate over, with 30 runs required off the final two, Cameron Green leaked 16 runs as Choudhary took charge, unleashing fearless hitting with two sixes and a four, including a flat smash over long leg that turned the match
on its head.
With 14 needed off the final over, Vaibhav Arora, KKR’s lead bowler this season in the absence of Harshit Rana and Matheesha Pathirana, cracked under pressure.
Choudhary clinched the game spectacularly, hitting two sixes, including one off the penultimate ball, a missed yorker he sent soaring over deep cover.
With just one run required off the final ball, the batters completed the chase as Choudhary finished an extraordinary unbeaten 54 off 27 deliveries (7×6, 2×4), delivering one of the season’s finest lower-order cameos.
Choudhary shared an unbroken 54-run partnership with Avesh Khan, which came off just 24 deliveries, underlining KKR’s struggles at the death.
Earlier, Ayush Badoni had steadied the chase with a composed 54 off 34 deliveries (7×4, 2×6), keeping Lucknow Super Giants in contention before Choudhary’s late-fire blitz completed a brilliant comeback from 128/7 in 16 overs.
The loss meant KKR remained winless after four games, with their lone point coming from a rain-abandoned match against Punjab Kings.
LSG, on the other hand, registered consecutive victories to move to the top half of the table with four points.
Under the spotlight as the IPL’s priciest overseas signing (Rs 25.2 crore), Cameron Green delivered his best batting performance, finishing unbeaten on 32 off 24 balls (3×4, 1×6).
