Youngster Mukul Choudhary played the innings of his career, hammering seven sixes on his way to an unblemished 54 as Lucknow Super Kings pulled off a dramatic, last-ball, three-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL here on Thursday.
Chasing Kolkata’s challenging 181-4 at Eden Gardens, Lucknow found themselves in a pickle at 128-7 after their 16 overs despite two fifties from Ayush Badoni when Choudhary, who was playing just his third IPL game, changed the script with an exhibition of brute hitting.
The burley right-hander hit sixes in a flurry to score 52 off his last 19 deliveries and leave the home side still ruing their first victory.
“Pressure is always there, but God has given us this opportunity and I try and do whatever I can do,” said the 21-year-old Choudhary, who admitted it was only his second match with play under lights.
“I was going to try and play until the end. “I have so much belief in myself to the extent that I knew if I batted till the end, then we will go home.”
Kolkata had rallied after suffering a mid-innings blip after being inserted, Rowman Powell showing the way with an unbeaten 39 in a 70-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Cameron Green.
Lucknow started with early aggression from Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram before they added 41 runs for the first wicket.
But once Vaibhav Arora got rid of both the openers in a matter of six deliveries in the fifth over, Kolkata exerted constant pressure.
Arora had to bowl 14 in the final over, but Choudhary and Avesh Khan scrounged a winning bye with one needed off the final ball.
Kolkata had Kiwi opener Finn Allen sent back by the second over of the contest, caught at third man off Prince Yadav, and they were shackled in the first four overs by excellent accuracy and swing from Mohammed Shami but once skipper Ajinkya Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi settled down over a period of time with crisp boundaries, they found their range.
The sixth over opened the floodgates, first Raghuvanshi flaying Avesh for two fours and a six, and soon enough Rahane opening his shoulders meant that runs started coming at a decent clip.
Rahane falls when the second-wicket pair had added 84, leg-spinner Digvesh Rathi having him smartly caught at mid-wicket by Shami.
That triggered a mini-collapse, as the home side lost three for 12 in 19 balls, with Raghuvanshi falling for a fluent 45.
Lucknow had re-entered contention by giving away only 17 runs across overs 11 through 15, thus necessitating that Powell and Green first stabilize and then accelerate.
Green, purchased for 25.2 crore ($2.8 million) at the December auction in Abu Dhabi — the highest bid on that day — started slowly, but finished with a flurry of late boundaries to end up with an unbeaten 32.
Powell was more adventurous, smashing four fours and two sixes but he fell to Choudhary who outshone both.