Not every IPL hero arrives with a fanfare. Some are announced quietly, then make enough noise to be heard across the country. On April 9 at Eden Gardens, Mukul Choudhary, 21 years old and from Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan, playing his third IPL match, announces himself in the most dramatic way possible.
KKR posts 181 for 4. Ajinkya Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi combine for an 84-run stand; Rovman Powell blazes 39 unbeaten at the death; and Cameron Green finally rolls his arm over after months of being managed back from back surgery, immediately taking a wicket. It looks like a par total in difficult Eden Gardens conditions; the surface plays slow, the ball grips and stalls, and scoring freely is earned, not gifted.
LSG’s chase starts brightly but unravels. Vaibhav Arora dismisses Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram in the same over with the older ball, bouncing both of them out. Rishabh Pant falls for 10. Nicholas Pooran, Abdul Samad, and Ayush Badoni all fall wickets, and LSG reach the penultimate over at 125 for 6, still 57 runs from victory. Badoni, to his credit, has fought hard and gets to fifty before holing out at long-off, leaving the team at 128 for 7. KKR has an 86% chance of winning at this point.
Choudhary has been at the crease since the 13th over, barely involved, watching wickets fall around him. Then the switch flips. He takes 28 off a Cameron Green over, two sixes, and a four, and suddenly LSG is back in the game. He smashes seven sixes in his 27-ball innings, including a helicopter shot that earns special commendation on commentary. With 14 needed off the final over, KKR and the 60,000 people inside Eden Gardens believe it is over. Choudhary smashes a massive six over cover to level the scores before LSG completes the win via a bye on the very last delivery. LSG coach Justin Langer had said before the season that Choudhary had the potential to become the scariest finisher in India. One night at Eden Gardens, and those words no longer feel like coaching optimism; they feel like prophecy. Choudhary falls to the turf, looks to the sky, and gets mobbed by his teammates. KKR remains winless. The IPL has found its newest story.
