What makes Mukul Choudhary a thrilling watch: A nonchalant attitude, cool in crisis and maximums on speed-dial
The 21-year-old from Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu barely twisted his nerves in a sniper-eyed 54 not out off 27 balls.
Synopsis: Mukul’s heroics stretch the winless streak of KKR, their batsmen flattering to deceive again, to four games
Rajasthan power-hitter Mukul Choudhary, appraised as the scariest finisher in India by LSG coach Justin Langer, came out of the syllabus for Kolkata Knight Riders bowlers as he single-handedly snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. With Lucknow reeling at 128/7, the crowd at Eden Gardens sensed they would finally get off the mark. But Choudhary’s belligerent power-hitting, which included a stunning helicopter shot off Vaibhav Arora, handed LSG a famous victory in the last ball of the match.
When Choudhary strode out to bat, his team reeling at 104 for 5, KKR would have sensed that he would not be their executioner. The odds were remote. It was only his third game, has thin experience on the domestic circuit and KKR’s bowlers were finally clicking. How wrong they were. In an exhibition of monstrous power-hitting, he collared KKR bowlers even before they could fathom the extent of destruction.
He began sedately, managing two of eight balls. It was proverbial calm before the storm. In the next 19, he hammered 52 including seven monstrous sixes. In the last four overs, they required 54 runs. He slashed the target by smearing Vaibhav for 11 runs in the 17th, before plundering 13 off Kartik Tyagi’s 18th. But 30 runs off the last two overs was still formidable. It was down to 30 off 10, before he blasted Cameron Green for a brace of sixes and a four to whittle down the target to an achievable range.
The shocked KKR supporters still breathed hope. Nerves could seize the youngster in the pursuit of 14 off six. But he cuffed Vaibhav’s second and fifth ball beyond the fence and scampered a bye off the last to wrap up a famous win. Choudhary would explain his plan during the presentation. “My plan was to play till the end, and I believe in myself that much that I knew if I batted till the end, I could make the team win. If it is in my area, I smash it,” he said
As good as his knock was, KKR had only their shoddy bowling at death, strewn with one length ball too many, and their lethargic batting for the hole they find themselves in.
With Kolkata’s unpredictable weather and KKR’s erratic batting lineup, it was no surprise that LSG skipper Rishabh Pant chose to chase after winning the toss. In the last match, the Knights were in a bit of a fix after losing 2 wickets for 25 before the rain forced the game to be abandoned, giving KKR their first point of the season.
Finn Allen played with fire on a pitch that offered plenty of swing in the first over bowled by Mohammed Shami where he was beaten by an inswinger and an out-swinger in successive deliveries. In the next over, after a flurry of strikes, he was sent packing by Prince Yadav when he top-edged and to Digvesh Rathi for 9.
Raghuvanshi, in at no 3, and captain Rahane held the innings together with a barrage of boundaries as KKR posted a decent 56/1 in the powerplay. The two batters consolidated further, bringing up their 50-run partnership in the seventh over before Rathi struck a body blow and sent back Rahane for 41 in the eleventh over with the stand ending at 84 runs.
Raghuvanshi departed soon after at 45, trying to take on Manimaran Siddharth as he played it straight into the welcoming palms of a waiting Aiden Markram. With two set batters out, the onus fell on Green and Rinku Singh to carry the baton forward. With boundaries drying up, the LSG bowlers piled on the pressure, resulting in Avesh Khan cleaning up Rinku for just 4 runs. By this time, KKR were without a boundary for three straight overs with their run rate taking a nosedive. In the end, this phase of crawl cost them the game.
The drought ultimately ended in the 16th over, after 30 boundary-less balls, when Rovman Powell launched Siddharth for a six, before following it up with 4 more as the Knights finally showed intent. Green, clearly under pressure from his hefty price tag, finally got his first boundary with a ramp to Prince in the 17th over.
Powell, meanwhile, continued to go after the bowlers, channeling his inner Andre Russell, slapping Prince for a boundary and a six before taking Avesh for another boundary as KKR crossed 150 in the 18th over. On the other end, Green held up his end, muscling Shami for a six in the 19th before the two batters mined 12 runs off the last over as KKR reached 181 with Green (32*)-Powell (39*) partnership contributing 70 runs. But that would prove inadequate as KKR’s IPL has already acquired a gloomy texture.
Brief Scores: Lucknow Super Giants 182 for 7 (Mukul Choudhary 54*, Ayush Badoni 54, Anukul Roy 2-32, Vaibhav Arora 2-38) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 181 for 4 (Angkrish Raghuvanshi 45, Ajinkya Rahane 41) by three wickets.
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Synopsis: Mukul’s heroics stretch the winless streak of KKR, their batsmen flattering to deceive again, to four games
Rajasthan power-hitter Mukul Choudhary, appraised as the scariest finisher in India by LSG coach Justin Langer, came out of the syllabus for Kolkata Knight Riders bowlers as he single-handedly snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. With Lucknow reeling at 128/7, the crowd at Eden Gardens sensed they would finally get off the mark. But Choudhary’s belligerent power-hitting, which included a stunning helicopter shot off Vaibhav Arora, handed LSG a famous victory in the last ball of the match.
When Choudhary strode out to bat, his team reeling at 104 for 5, KKR would have sensed that he would not be their executioner. The odds were remote. It was only his third game, has thin experience on the domestic circuit and KKR’s bowlers were finally clicking. How wrong they were. In an exhibition of monstrous power-hitting, he collared KKR bowlers even before they could fathom the extent of destruction.
He began sedately, managing two of eight balls. It was proverbial calm before the storm. In the next 19, he hammered 52 including seven monstrous sixes. In the last four overs, they required 54 runs. He slashed the target by smearing Vaibhav for 11 runs in the 17th, before plundering 13 off Kartik Tyagi’s 18th. But 30 runs off the last two overs was still formidable. It was down to 30 off 10, before he blasted Cameron Green for a brace of sixes and a four to whittle down the target to an achievable range.
The shocked KKR supporters still breathed hope. Nerves could seize the youngster in the pursuit of 14 off six. But he cuffed Vaibhav’s second and fifth ball beyond the fence and scampered a bye off the last to wrap up a famous win. Choudhary would explain his plan during the presentation. “My plan was to play till the end, and I believe in myself that much that I knew if I batted till the end, I could make the team win. If it is in my area, I smash it,” he said
As good as his knock was, KKR had only their shoddy bowling at death, strewn with one length ball too many, and their lethargic batting for the hole they find themselves in.
With Kolkata’s unpredictable weather and KKR’s erratic batting lineup, it was no surprise that LSG skipper Rishabh Pant chose to chase after winning the toss. In the last match, the Knights were in a bit of a fix after losing 2 wickets for 25 before the rain forced the game to be abandoned, giving KKR their first point of the season.
Finn Allen played with fire on a pitch that offered plenty of swing in the first over bowled by Mohammed Shami where he was beaten by an inswinger and an out-swinger in successive deliveries. In the next over, after a flurry of strikes, he was sent packing by Prince Yadav when he top-edged and to Digvesh Rathi for 9.
Raghuvanshi, in at no 3, and captain Rahane held the innings together with a barrage of boundaries as KKR posted a decent 56/1 in the powerplay. The two batters consolidated further, bringing up their 50-run partnership in the seventh over before Rathi struck a body blow and sent back Rahane for 41 in the eleventh over with the stand ending at 84 runs.
Raghuvanshi departed soon after at 45, trying to take on Manimaran Siddharth as he played it straight into the welcoming palms of a waiting Aiden Markram. With two set batters out, the onus fell on Green and Rinku Singh to carry the baton forward. With boundaries drying up, the LSG bowlers piled on the pressure, resulting in Avesh Khan cleaning up Rinku for just 4 runs. By this time, KKR were without a boundary for three straight overs with their run rate taking a nosedive. In the end, this phase of crawl cost them the game.
The drought ultimately ended in the 16th over, after 30 boundary-less balls, when Rovman Powell launched Siddharth for a six, before following it up with 4 more as the Knights finally showed intent. Green, clearly under pressure from his hefty price tag, finally got his first boundary with a ramp to Prince in the 17th over.
Powell, meanwhile, continued to go after the bowlers, channeling his inner Andre Russell, slapping Prince for a boundary and a six before taking Avesh for another boundary as KKR crossed 150 in the 18th over. On the other end, Green held up his end, muscling Shami for a six in the 19th before the two batters mined 12 runs off the last over as KKR reached 181 with Green (32*)-Powell (39*) partnership contributing 70 runs. But that would prove inadequate as KKR’s IPL has already acquired a gloomy texture.
Brief Scores: Lucknow Super Giants 182 for 7 (Mukul Choudhary 54*, Ayush Badoni 54, Anukul Roy 2-32, Vaibhav Arora 2-38) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 181 for 4 (Angkrish Raghuvanshi 45, Ajinkya Rahane 41) by three wickets.
