Lucknow Super Giants head coach Justin Langer described Mukul Choudhary’s match-winning innings against Kolkata Knight Riders as a defining moment in the young batter’s career, following his unbeaten half-century in a last-ball IPL 2026 thriller.
Choudhary’s explosive effort powered LSG to victory in a tense chase of 182, with the 21-year-old producing a decisive late assault after his side had slipped to 128 for 7.
“The thing about him is there’s very few players like the Tim Davids, the Andre Russells – and I’m not even going to say it, I’m not even going to compare it – but that’s how he’s lived his career,” Langer told the host broadcast after the game. “And he’s got used to finishing off games like that, so he has to think about it, and he’s only 22 (21) years old.”
Choudhary turns the game around
With LSG needing 43 from the final three overs, the contest still tilted heavily in KKR’s favour. Choudhary, however, shifted momentum with a series of powerful strokes, including a six over deep cover off Kartik Tyagi followed by another maximum in the same over.
He then attacked Cameron Green in the penultimate over, striking 6, 0, 4 and 6 to bring the target down to 14 from the final six balls. In the last over, Choudhary added two more sixes before the winning run came via a bye, completing a remarkable turnaround.
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“He’s so young, and he’s got that look in his eyes, he’s hungry,” Langer said. “You know when you first come in, you try so hard, and [this victory will] just be a massive moment in his life and his career… What I love about him is there’s areas that we saw straight away. I mean, he can do that – what we’re seeing on the screen now. We’ve seen all that side of it.
“But he’s also gone away, he’s worked on the short ball. We’ve been doing drills every day with him, and then it came out in practice today, so he’s got a very curious mind, he wants to get better, and like I say, after you work hard at something and you take it out to the middle… We’ve seen plenty of that for the last four weeks or so since he’s been with us.”
Langer reflects on the turning point
Langer admitted he had already begun reflecting on the team’s performance when defeat appeared likely, praising their efforts with the ball and in the field.
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“I was probably thinking about what I was going to say to our players; I thought we bowled brilliantly on this wicket, I thought we were outstanding. I actually jotted that down, regardless of whether we win or lose, our bowling was excellent and our fielding was elite as well, so I was really pleased with that.”
The victory marked LSG’s second consecutive win after losing their opening match, lifting them closer to the top four early in the tournament.
“If you win the close ones, you get that little bit of belief, don’t you,” Langer said. “And it doesn’t matter whether you do it with the ball, whether you’re able to pull back a team or have a tight win like that, but those tight wins, it’s just like that magic tonic, isn’t it?”
LSG will next face Gujarat Titans at home on April 12 as they look to build on their momentum.
