Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra showered praise on Mukul Choudhary after Lucknow Super Giants registered a thrilling three-wicket win against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Thursday.
Chopra said LSG had lost this game when they were 128-7, but Choudhary was able to get his team over the line in the run chase of 182. The 21-year-old scored a blistering knock of 54 runs off just 27 balls with the help of two fours and seven sixes.
The youngster scored his runs at a strike rate of 200 and delivered the goods for his team when they were down and out.
“Mukul Choudhary, brother, a star is born. He has played an incredible knock. In a game where there wasn’t even a hope for a win, this boy showed confidence there. ‘You guys are thinking it’s difficult to win this game, but I am just counting the number of sixes that I have to get.’ What a player, and what a knock,” Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“They had no business winning this game. The Lucknow Super Giants had lost this game because no batter was left. Only Mukul Choudhary was left, and he is a kid who is playing his first IPL,” he added.
The renowned commentator highlighted that Choudhary started farming the strike from the 16th over as there was no genuine batter at the other end.
“He had started farming the strike from the 16th over because he didn’t have confidence in the batters at the other end. Actually, the Lucknow Super Giants are the team that has seven batters and five bowlers. You can play 12 players because you have an Impact Player, but the batting ends at No. 7, and they don’t have a sixth bowler. It is something that they need to address,” he said.
The former KKR batter praised Choudhary for his six-hitting abilities all around the ground.
“They had fallen way behind, and the batting was over, but he kept hitting sixes. He hit Cameron Green and Vaibhav Arora, and he won the game single-handedly. Every time he played two dot balls, he hit a six after that, and he hit everywhere. He brought out a small helicopter as well. He pulled short balls for sixes, hit behind as well, and the six he hit over cover was the icing on the cake. Brilliant, well done,” Chopra observed.
LSG will next take on the Gujarat Titans at Lucknow on Sunday.
