Lucknow Super Giants edge past Kolkata Knight Riders in a thrilling match at the Indian Premier League 2026. This match was being played at Eden Gardens in Kolkata and it was KKR who were batting first. They lost the wicket of Finn Allen early but Rahane and Raghuvanshi put up a partnership at good rate as KKR were on top at the half way mark. Both batters were dismissed just short of fifty and then LSG bowlers put the screws. Green struggled a lot but finally found some runs in the back end of the innings while Rovman Powell played an excellent knock to take KKR past the 180 mark. Chasing the target, Lucknow Super Giants got a quick start but kept losing wickets. Sunil Narine bowled an excellent spell and Badoni kept going but did not get any support from the other end. Once the wicket of Badoni fell, LSG were dominating the game but Mukul Choudhary single handedly smashed a half century and took his side home to a stunning win.
Ajinkya Rahane | KKR captain:
Tough one to take. Really proud of the boys, for the way we played. I thought Mukul's (Choudhary) knock was defining. The way he played his shots, he was brave. But again, games like these, you don't want to pinpoint too many things. I thought till 18 overs, we were going really good. 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) Yeah, those deliveries did work. For them (LSG), it was nothing to lose. Two overs, 30 runs to win. Every ball it was about swinging. And I thought he was really brave to play those shots. There were some brilliant shots. I thought there a couple of brilliant deliveries (bowled), but the way he batted was amazing. Nothing, I mean, probably in the fielding, I'd say a couple of misfields, but apart from that, I thought our bowlers did a brilliant job. (How he looks back at the game) See, when you lose a game you can easily think about things we could have done better. But as I said, batting wise, the partnership Anki (Raghuvanshi) and me had and then Rovman Powell and (Cameron) Greeny, I thought 180, 185 was a very good total on this wicket. Wasn't easy to play big shots. Slow balls were stopping, it was hard to hit. But in the end, I thought, let's give credit to the batter, the way he (Mukul) batted. (Any thought to crowd Avesh for the first ball of the last over?) The intention was to keep Avesh (Khan) on strike. But again, we had to keep five fielders up because of the field restriction and the time limit. So it's tough on bowlers as well. When you have five fielders inside the circle, especially bowling the last over, it's tough.
Mukul Choudhary | Player of the Match (translated from Hindi):
My journey started when my father was not even married, his dream was his son has to play cricket. I started at the age group level but there were not good academies in Sikkim. I played matches in Delhi and Guragaon and that helped me. When I was playing against U19 versus UP, it was a low scoring game and I made a contribution, so he knew then that I would make it big. It was only my second match. God has given me this opportunity, there can be pressure but it is also an opportunity to make a name for myself. My aim was to bat till the last and see what happens. Even I liked the first six, I had not scored a single six in two games, so the first one was special. In my mind I knew one out of the four balls will be in the slot and I was just waiting for it. From younger days I like hitting sixes and not playing along the ground.
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Rishabh Pant | LSG captain:
When we see him in the nets, when you see someone you can see that.. When you do it in the match, I have no words to describe. But what a fantastic effort. One thing I make sure is the trust, as a captain and the management, having the trust plays a big role. Definitely it is the character, every match someone is putting their hand, something is building for sure, we don't want to talk too much, but something good is cooking. He has been the senior pro in the team, giving him responsibility and he played an amazing role. He (Shami) is not getting younger, the experience he brings is invaluable. Not only Shami Bhai but the whole bowling unit is doing an amazing job.
Kolkata Knight Riders lose yet another game at home and their campaign has been really bad. KKR have three losses and a no result in four matches and they need to bounce back quickly. LSG will take the two points from this game and they have two wins in three matches and are peaking well.
