Newcomer Mukul Choudhary, purchased for Rs 2.6 crore at the auction, delivered a magnificent 54 from just 27 balls to steer Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) to a thrilling three-wicket victory against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) during their IPL 2026 encounter in Kolkata on Tuesday. Mukul’s explosive batting display propelled LSG from a precarious 128/7 to successfully chase down 182 on the final delivery. Ayush Badoni (54 from 34) also contributed with a half-century. KKR had earlier managed 181/4 across 20 overs, thanks to captain Ajinkya Rahane (41), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (45) and Rovman Powell (39). This marks KKR’s third defeat in four matches, whereas Rishabh Pant’s LSG now boast consecutive victories. Uncapped Mukul Stole The Game For LSG And Set Unbelievable Win Against KKR .
TOSS
Lucknow Super Giants won the toss and chose to bowl first.
PLAYING XI
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI):
Ajinkya Rahane(c), Finn Allen, Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuvanshi(w), Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Sunil Narine, Navdeep Saini, Kartik Tyagi
Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI):
Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Nicholas Pooran, Abdul Samad, Mukul Choudhary, Manimaran Siddharth, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Shami, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Prince Yadav
KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS
Questions had surrounded Ajinkya Rahane’s strike rate following the Powerplay and when facing spin bowling entering this match. From 2023 through today in the IPL, he maintained a strike rate of 119.93 versus spin and 124.16 during middle-over phases. The KKR skipper attempted to address these concerns. He attacked spin during the Powerplay, launching a six off M Siddharth and collecting two boundaries from Rathi. He maintained momentum afterward, clearing the boundary despite losing grip on his bat against Avesh Khan. KKR also gained from Raghuvanshi’s smooth strokeplay as they raced to 98/1 at the ten-over mark. Rahane’s innings concluded in the 11th over when he fell to Rathi, with the third umpire requiring several replays to verify Shami’s clean catch. Though he missed his half-century, Rahane played a brisk knock at 170.83 strike rate. His rate after the PP reached 176.9 while against spin it was 162.5.
Between overs 11-15, KKR experienced a dramatic slowdown. They lost established batsmen plus Rinku Singh, managing just 17 runs during this phase on what seemed like a deteriorating surface. Cameron Green battled, as did Rovman Powell, though the Caribbean player showed positive intent when he launched a six and an edged boundary off Siddharth in the 16th over. Green’s opening four arrived off his 15th delivery against Prince, who conceded 17 runs with Powell also finding boundaries and sixes. Green’s sole maximum came off Shami, and both batsmen struck fours off Prince in the closing over, helping KKR accumulate 66 runs from the final five overs.
LUCKNOW SUPER GIANTS
They matched KKR’s pace almost exactly, achieving an identical 56-run Powerplay total, though losing both openers during this period. Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh provided rapid momentum before both succumbed to Vaibhav Arora via short deliveries in the fifth over. By the eighth over, LSG had progressed to 72 for 2 – marginally behind KKR’s position – with Rishabh Pant and Ayush Badoni building a solid partnership.
Making his bowling debut this season, the Australian entered at the ninth over’s start and immediately made an impact, forcing Pant to mistime a pull shot and removing the LSG captain for 10. Nicholas Pooran hammered a six in that same over but soon fell to Tyagi, while Anukul Roy claimed Abdul Samad’s wicket. Badoni attempted to maintain LSG’s challenge with a 33-ball fifty, though his departure at a crucial moment via Anukul’s bowling swung the match toward KKR. Narine then achieved the milestone of becoming the first overseas bowler to claim 200 T20 wickets in India, dismissing Shami as LSG’s innings collapsed rapidly from 72 for 2 to 128 for 7, until Mukul produced a spectacular performance, contributing 52 of the 54 runs scored during his eighth-wicket partnership with Avesh.
Mukul stood at 2 off 6 when Mohammed Shami departed, yet two overs later had accelerated to 26 off 16. A six and four off Arora, plus two sixes against Tyagi, reduced the requirement to 30 from 12 balls. The 21-year-old Rajasthan wicketkeeper skillfully retained strike while guiding LSG closer to victory. The 19th over, delivered by Cameron Green, yielded 16 runs through Mukul’s two sixes and a four. Avesh smartly took a single off the opening ball, leaving Mukul needing 13 from five remaining. Mukul continued finding the leg-side boundary, securing another six off Vaibhav. The bowler executed well by bowling wide for several deliveries, but the No. 7 carved a clever six over the off side to reach his 26-ball fifty, leaving 1 required from the final ball. Vaibhav kept the last delivery away from Mukul’s hitting zone, but the batsmen managed a bye as wicketkeeper Angkrish Raghuvanshi failed to break the stumps. Mukul looked skyward in gratitude after securing LSG’s victory while his ecstatic teammates rushed to celebrate with their match-winner.
Brief scores:
Kolkata Knight Riders 181/4 in 20 overs [Angkrish Raghuvanshi 45 (33), Ajinkya Rahane 41 (24); Digvesh Singh Rathi 1-25] lost to Lucknow Super Giants 182/7 in 20 overs [Mukul Choudhary 54* (27), Ayush Badoni 54 (34); Anukul Roy 2-32] by 3 wickets.
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