KOLKATA, India (AP) and Staff Writer – Lucknow Super Giants head coach Justin Langer has heaped massive praise on the 21-year-old Mukul Choudhary, who led the franchise to a three-wicket win over the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League 2026. The right-handed batter hit seven sixes in the death overs.
Playing his first IPL season, Mukul dashed Kolkata’s hopes for its first win in the tournament with an unbeaten 54 off 27 balls as Lucknow reached 182-7 off the final ball.
Unbeaten cameos from Rovman Powell (39) and Cameron Green (32) lifted Kolkata to 181-4 after captain Ajinkya Rahana lost the toss and was put in to bat.
Lucknow have two wins from three games while Kolkata is languishing at No. 9 in the standings with just one point from its last rained-out game.
The total seemed to be enough for Kolkata as Lucknow had slumped to 128-7 in 16 overs.
But Choudhary took charge with his extraordinary power-hitting against pacers, including Green, who bowled for the first time this season and finished with 1-28 from his two overs.
Green’s 16-run penultimate over brought down the target to 14 off Vaibhav Arora’s final over, but Choudhary smacked two sixes against the fast bowler as he levelled the scores with his seventh six of the innings over extra cover.
Choudhary couldn’t connect the final ball, but Avesh Khan scampered for the winning run as wicketkeeper Angkrish Raghuvanshi missed the stumps at the striker’s end.
“We saw him at a training camp. All the credit goes to our data analyst Shrinivas, who told me to sign this kid,” Langer told Faf du Plessis after the match.
The young wicket-keeper from Rajasthan joined LSG for INR 2.60 crore. “He is a real athlete. He runs like Virat between the wickets and has a good game sense. The way he talks feels like he has already been a part of 300 matches. He has got power, and that’s a good combination. He hasn’t played much, but there are players like Tim Davids and Andre Russells. I am not comparing him, but those players are finishers. That’s how Mukul is growing. He likes finishing games. He is hungry, and his parents must be proud of him. This is a massive moment in his career,” Langer added.
The LSG coach was preparing himself for a different result when 64 runs were needed in the last four overs.
“This is what happens when you are a coach. 64 runs were needed from four overs, and I was thinking about what to say to the players after the game. We bowled well on his wicket, and regardless of the result, our bowling was excellent. A 22-year-old kid took responsibility for us,” he mentioned.
Langer had told Mukul Choudhary that he had the talent to become the scariest finisher in India.
“Wins like these can lift the dressing room. Mukul is curious and wants to know about the game. He is working on his weaknesses. He is involved in drills on a daily basis and wants to get better. We have seen him working hard since the time he joined us. Our scouts have been brilliant. Shrinivas has been with us for a long time, and he knows about the game. He has played a role in picking some good players for us. Some players are waiting for their chances. The talent in India is unbelievable,” he concluded.
Mukul is the next Indian star to watch out for, and he will remember his knock for a long time.
