Not long after witnessing Mukul Choudhary\u2019s breathtaking hitting that helped Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) pull off a dramatic last-ball finish versus Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), head coach Justin Langer described the knock as a defining \u201cmassive moment\u201d for the young batter\u2019s life and career.<\/p>\n
Speaking on the post-match broadcast, Langer said, \u201cThere aren\u2019t many players like Tim David or Andre Russell\u2014and I\u2019m not even going to try to compare him\u2014but that\u2019s essentially how his career has unfolded. He\u2019s become accustomed to finishing games in that fashion, so he has that mindset. He\u2019s only 22 (21) years old.\u201d<\/p>\n
Choudhary\u2019s heroics came when LSG were staring at defeat in their chase of 182, having slipped to 128 for 7. Even though the innings featured a few significant strikes from Choudhary, KKR continued to hold the upper hand, leaving LSG needing 43 runs from the final three overs. What happened next was an eye-catching surge: Choudhary struck a massive six over deep cover off Kartik Tyagi, then followed it with another six in the same over. In the penultimate over, he added a run of 6, dot, 4 and 6 off Cameron Green, tightening the equation to 14 required from the last six deliveries. In the final over, he struck two more sixes, and the chase was completed with the winning runs coming via a bye.<\/p>\n
Langer further highlighted Choudhary\u2019s hunger and mindset. \u201cHe\u2019s so young, and you can see that look in his eyes\u2014he\u2019s hungry,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen you\u2019re new, you try so hard, and this win\u2014this will be a massive moment in his life and his career. What I admire is that we could spot certain qualities early on. We\u2019re seeing it on the screen now, and we\u2019ve already seen that side of his game. But he\u2019s also worked away on the short ball. We\u2019ve been running drills with him every day, and today it showed up in practice and then translated onto the field.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked what he was thinking as defeat seemed to gather momentum before the late twist in the match, Langer replied, \u201cI was probably focused on what I was going to say to our players. I believed we bowled brilliantly on this wicket. In fact, I even noted it down\u2014whether we won or lost, our bowling was excellent. Our fielding was elite as well, so I was genuinely pleased with that.\u201d<\/p>\n
After suffering a setback in their opening encounter, LSG have bounced back with consecutive wins and are hovering near the top four positions early in the group stage. \u201cIf you win the tight ones, you carry a little extra belief,\u201d Langer said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter whether it happens through the ball, whether you\u2019re able to pull a team back, or if it\u2019s a nail-biting result like this. Those close wins act like a bit of magic tonic, don\u2019t they?\u201d<\/p>\n
LSG will now take on Gujarat Titans at home next, with the match scheduled for April 12.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Not long after witnessing Mukul Choudhary\u2019s breathtaking hitting that helped Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) pull off a dramatic last-ball finish versus Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR),…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1507,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Justin Langer Backs Mukul Choudhary for IPL Hits","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Justin Langer hails Mukul Choudhary\u2019s match-winning IPL knock for LSG vs KKR, calling it a massive moment and backing him for bigger hits.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\n