Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Ajinkya Rahane lauded Mukul Choudhary for playing a fearless 54-run knock and finishing the game to power his team, Lucknow Super Giants, to a three-wicket win.
Chasing 182, Choudhary turned the script around for LSG after all the mainstays of the batting line-up had returned to the dugout. The uncapped wicketkeeper-batter smashed seven sixes in his maiden IPL fifty. Speaking to broadcasters after the match, Rahane called it a “defining” innings and refused to pinpoint where it went wrong for his team.
“I thought Mukul’s (Choudhary) knock was defining,” Rahane said. “The way he played his shots, he was brave. But again, in games like these, you don’t want to pinpoint too many things.”
LSG needed 30 runs off the last two overs. Cameron Green conceded 16 runs, making the equation simpler in the final over. Rahane felt things were under control until the 18th over; however, the momentum shifted due to Choudhary’s onslaught.
“I thought till 18 overs, we were going really well. In the last two overs, execution here and there can happen. But credit to Mukul and that partnership. (Pace off into the wicket length had worked well for you.) Yes, those deliveries did work.”
From a batting point of view, Rahane was satisfied with the total of 181 after losing the toss.
“I said, batting-wise, the partnership Anki (Raghuvanshi) and I had, and then Rovman Powell and (Cameron) Green, I thought 180–185 was a very good total on this wicket,” he said. “It wasn’t easy to play big shots. The slower balls were holding up, and it was hard to hit. But in the end, I thought we should give credit to the batter for the way he (Mukul) batted.”
KKR are yet to win a game in the tournament. The three-time champions have lost three matches, with one washout against Punjab Kings (PBKS) earning them a single point, which has kept them above Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
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