Mukul Choudhary\u2019s father always dreamed of seeing his son make it in cricket. That ambition has now turned into reality, and after a memorable night in IPL 2026, Choudhary is generating plenty of noise with a performance that left Eden Gardens buzzing.<\/p>\n
On Thursday evening at Eden Gardens, Choudhary hammered 54 runs from 27 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to steer Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) to a surprising victory. The driving force behind his impact? MS Dhoni. The proof? His trademark helicopter-style hitting.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been working on that shot since I was a kid,\u201d Choudhary said during the post-match press interaction, referring to the over in which he sent Vaibhav Arora for a maximum in the 17th. \u201cI\u2019ve always liked it\u2014especially the way Dhoni used to close out an innings. He could even pick up a six off a yorker. If you manage to hit deliveries like that for six, it completely changes what the bowler is willing to do next.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chasing a target where 54 runs were required from 24 balls, and with LSG already reduced to seven wickets down, Choudhary had little margin for error. After getting just a single run from his first five deliveries, he took control in the next stretch, smashing another 53 off 22 balls. His finishing included seven sixes, while his boundary tally with fours stood at two.<\/p>\n
Speaking about how he generates his power at the crease, Choudhary added, \u201cMy body helps me a bit, and it has always come naturally. I also practise hitting between 100 and 150 sixes every day, so the bat speed improves the more you repeat it. Over the past five to six months, I\u2019ve been putting in a lot of work, and that\u2019s why it has started showing in my batting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Choudhary had already flashed his potential at the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025-26. For Rajasthan, he struck 62 not out from only 26 balls, including seven maximums, to guide his side home while chasing 176. He also remembered finishing a match by taking down his LSG team-mate Ayush Badoni for a six to seal the contest with one big hit. In that tournament, Choudhary ended with 173 runs, posting an average of 57.66 and a strike rate of 198.85.<\/p>\n
His performances were enough to see LSG spend INR 2.6 crore to bring him into the squad. Around the same time, LSG head coach Justin Langer expressed confidence that Choudhary could evolve into \u201cthe scariest No. 6 or No. 7 batter in India\u201d within four months.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen a coach of his stature says something like that about you, I\u2019m sure he must have seen something special in you,\u201d Choudhary said about what he took from Langer\u2019s backing. \u201cHe trusted me, so it was my responsibility to repay that faith. During practice, he sets aside 10 to 15 minutes every day just for me. Whatever he taught me ended up being useful, so I simply did my part after he put his trust in my work.\u201d<\/p>\n
After Choudhary engineered LSG\u2019s comeback win, Langer also spoke to the host broadcaster, saying he believes the youngster can reach even higher levels.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s very young, and you can see it in the way he looks \u2014 there\u2019s hunger in his eyes,\u201d Langer said. \u201cWhen someone comes into the team, you can tell they\u2019re trying hard, and [this win] will be a massive moment for him, not just in the match, but for his entire career.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mukul Choudhary\u2019s father always dreamed of seeing his son make it in cricket. That ambition has now turned into reality, and after a memorable night…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1573,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"IPL 2026: Mukul Choudhary 54 off 27 vs KKR at Eden","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"IPL 2026 at Eden Gardens: Mukul Choudhary\u2019s 54 off 27 powers LSG to a stunning win over KKR, igniting Eden\u2019s roar and headlines.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\n