Mukul Choudhary. (Photo Credits: IPL/X)
Lucknow Super Giants rode on an emphatic knock from Mukul Choudhary to beat Kolkata Knight Riders by three wickets at the Eden Gardens on Thursday. Coming in at number seven, Choudhary smashed an unbeaten 54 off 27 to take the side home in Kolkata. While Mukul’s heroics with the bat have gathered the limelight, the aggressive batter talked about his execution of the helicopter shot.
“I used to watch how MS Dhoni would finish games,” Mukul said at the post-match conference. “I bat at the same number. He inspired me early in my career, I finished the game and would dedicate it to him”.
“My body has a bit more natural power, but I practice as well – hitting 100 to 150 sixes daily – it develops if you keep practising it regularly. For the last 5-6 months specifically, I have been working a lot on it, so it’s now developed,” he further explained.
Choudhary, who was named Player of the Match for his unbeaten 54, spoke about the early struggles in his cricketing journey.
“Even before my dad got married, it was his dream that his son would play cricket. Financial condition was not very good at the start. I began playing at 12-13 years old. There were not a lot of academies in Jhunjhunu and then I moved to Jaipur,” he said.
Highlighting his efforts to adapt to the evolving game, he added, “I saw how much T20 cricket is growing, so I moved to Gurgaon (now Gurugram) and stayed there for 3-4 months.”
Recalling a turning point in his career, Choudhary said, “My dad tells me there was an Under-19 match against Uttar Pradesh. It was a low-scoring match but I scored runs and that is when he knew I would make it big.”
Speaking about handling pressure in high-stakes situations, the youngster said he prefers to view it as an opportunity. “Pressure is always there, but God has given us this opportunity and I try to do what I can. I see it as an opportunity rather than taking pressure. My plan was to play till the end, and I believed that if I stayed till the end, I could make the team win,” he said.
Choudhary also revealed his approach in the final moments of the chase. “I knew one ball would be in my area and I needed to hit just one six,” he said, adding that his first six of the match was the most special.
According to CricViz, Mukul Choudhary and Avesh Khan’s unbeaten 54-run stand was also the highest for the 8th wicket or lower in a successful IPL chase.
In a unique match-winning effort, Mukul scored 52 of those runs, while Avesh played his part with 1*(3) at the other end.
(With Agency Inputs)
Covering sports for fun. Cricket in whites remains the first love—the kind that teaches patience, rewards nuance, and tells stories over five days rather than five seconds.
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