3 min readApr 10, 2026 02:57 AM IST
First published on: Apr 9, 2026 at 11:22 PM IST
Mukul Choudhary helped Lucknow Super Giants pull victory out of the jaws of defeat and leave Kolkata Knight Riders winless after four matches in the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) as they won a thriller by three wickets at the Eden Gardens on Thursday. Choudhary finished unbeaten on 54 off 27 balls, almost single-handedly turning things around for LSG in their chase of a target of 182.
KKR were dominant for much of the LSG chase. Vaibhav Arora’s double strike in the fifth over sent back LSG’s potent opening partnership of Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram. Markram fell off the very first ball of the over, while Marsh departed off the third. Cameron Green then took the ball in his hands at last and struck almost straight away, dismissing LSG captain Rishabh Pant with his second ball in the ninth over.
Ayush Badoni tried to give LSG impetus but KKR kept chipping away at the other end to stay in control. Badoni himself finally fell on 54 off 34 balls to Anukul Roy in the 15th over. The next man to fall was Mohammed Shami off the last ball of the 16th over, at which point LSG’s score 128/7. They needed 54 to win from 24 balls at that point and incredibly, this is where the turnaround started.
Choudhary, who was on two off six balls when Shami departed hit a four and a six off consecutive balls by Arora next over and then two sixes after that off Kartik Tyagi. He then laid into Green, smashing two sixes and a four in the penultimate over, leaving LSG needing 14 to win off the last. Mukul came on strike second ball of the last over by Arora and hit the second ball over deep backward square leg for a six. Two dot balls followed, though, leaving LSG needing seven to win off the last two. Choudhary then incredibly reached all the way outside off and connected with a helicopter shot while on his knees to send the ball away for a flat six over deep cover. He missed the pull last ball but the batters ran the single succesfully to go past the line.
Earlier, Green continued to to struggle find his rhythm with the bat as he finished unbeaten on 32 off 24 balls. Captain Ajinkya Rahane provided the goods earlier on after a sluggish start, scoring 41 in 24 balls. Rovman Powell then gave some finishing touches which pushed KKR past 180. The former West Indies captain finished unbeaten on 39 in 24 balls.
Mukul Choudhary almost single-handedly powered LSG's turnaround. (BCCI/Creimas Photo) 
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