Published: April 10, 2026 at 2:26 pm
Young Mukul Choudhary etched his name in the annals of the Indian Premier League with a breathtaking innings on Thursday night at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Mukul breathed life into a Lucknow Super Giants’ campaign which was dead and ready to be buried. Needing 54 in the last four overs with only the tail for company, Mukul took the game away from Kolkata Knight Riders.
Mukul knocks the lights out of Knight Riders, steals a three-wicket win for Super Giants
It was a finish which would have made former India captain and Chennai Super Kings legend MS Dhoni proud. Lucknow Super Giants needed 30 off the last 12 balls. Cameroon Green bowled the penultimate over and Mukul hit his third ball for a six over the long leg fence. The Rajasthan lad then hit the Australian for a four and six of the last two balls to plunder 16 runs in the over.
Last over drama won by Mukul
Lucknow still needed 14 off the last six balls. Vaibhav Arora, who was Kolkata’s most successful bowler on the day, was given the task of taming Mukul. Avesh Khan, who was on strike, promptly took a single to get Mukul back on strike. Mukul hammered the next ball over deep backward square leg for a six.
Arora bowled a brilliant yorker to deny Mukul any runs and that left Lucknow with seven off three balls. Arora followed it up with another sizzling yorker and the cheers in the stand reached a crescendo.
He (father) had already made up his mind, even before he was married, that when he has a son, he has to make him play cricket, said Mukul Choudhary after his match-winning knock. Pics: BCCI
Seven off two and the heat was on. Arora missed the yorker by a touch but that was enough for Mukul to cream it over deep cover for a six. Under pressure, it was the most amazing and productive stroke, one could say one of the all-time great shots in the IPL.
With the scores tied, it was one off one. Arora bowled a short ball outside off and Mukul went for a might swing but missed it altogether. Avesh lost no time in scrambling across for the all-important one run even as wicketkeeper Angkrish Raghuvanshi missed the stumps.
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It was Mukul’s night to shine in the Knight Riders’ backyard, and the 21-year-old batter was delighted with his effort. “I always look up to MS Dhoni because I am also a finisher. I always look up to him. His helicopter shot, which is very iconic, is my favorite. The way he led India in the 2011 World Cup, everybody remembers it. I want to be like him and finish off matches and help my team win,” he told JioStar after the game.
Dad wanted someone to play cricket, says Mukul
Speaking about his father’s passion for the game and the sacrifices he made for Mukul, the batter said: “It was my father’s dream to play cricket at a big level, we come from a very poor family, and he wanted someone from the family to play cricket. Nowadays, there is a lot of money and fame in cricket. Cricket is his favorite sport, but our family condition did not allow him to play cricket professionally. He had already made up his mind, even before he was married, that when he has a son, he has to make him play cricket.”
“When I was young, our family situation was not strong, and it was not possible for him to get me enrolled in a cricket academy. At that time, he also used to teach in a college and was preparing for Rajasthan Administrative Service (RAS) as well, then he understood that either he can prepare for RAS or he can make me play cricket professionally. So, he left his RAS preparation, did some property work, earned some money, and when I turned 12 years old, he enrolled me in the SBS Cricket Academy in Sikar city for the first time,” Mukul said.
Struggle to find a cricket academy
Speaking about the early struggles he had in finding a good cricket academy, Mukul said: “The challenge was that I did not know anything about cricket before I started playing at a professional level. I had no cricket connection in my family. Nobody from our area was a cricket player. I did not know anything about the sport. I remember in 2015, It was my birthday that day and My father and I left in the morning to search for an academy. There were three districts nearby, Churu, Jhunjhunu and Sikar. We were looking for an academy in those three districts. At that time, SBS Cricket Academy in Sikar had just opened up. We saw it there and decided to take admission in that academy. It was a new academy and the people running the academy were very fond and passionate about cricket. So, we found the right place to begin my cricket journey.”
