Mukul Choudhary is a name that will reverberate around the Eden Gardens for many years to come after the 21-year-old’s headline-grabbing, unbeaten 27-ball 54 catapulted Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) from sure-shot defeat to an unlikely victory against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Thursday.
As he held up his end in the middle, LSG were losing wickets at regular intervals and at 128/7 in 16 overs, the match threatened to slip away from their grasp. Choudhary took it upon himself to guide the visitors home, timing his big shots to perfection to stun the home crowd.
Chaudhary opened up about a conversation with LSG captain Rishabh Pant, who told the youngster to not clutter his mind with many thoughts and focus on watching the ball.
“I used to hurry a lot a couple of years ago, but since then, I have practiced and have kept these things in mind. I want to play as deep as I can and take the game till the end, and help my team win. In the last match, I could play just 4-5 balls. I wasn’t dismissed, but I couldn’t connect the ball as I had hoped. So, I talked to Rishabh bhaiya, and he told me not to think too much. He told me to just follow my process. ‘If you think too much, there’ll be pressure. See the ball and hit the ball. We believe in you and you should believe in yourself too, he said,’ “ the Rajasthan batter said in the post-match press conference.
Mukul Choudhary almost single-handedly powered LSG’s turnaround. (BCCI/Creimas Photo)
“When Ayush bhai was gone, I thought that now I have to do what is to be done. That was on my mind. I thought if I played till the end, I’ll take the match close. Didn’t think of victory or defeat. Then the situation was such that I thought I can actually win it from here,” he added.
Mukul, who was playing in just his second match under lights, also opened up about the last over, where 14 runs were needed and explained his thought process when seven runs were needed in four balls.
“When the equation was 7 from 4 balls, I knew that the bowler will miss at least one ball. The ball that misses the line, I have to hit that for a six and end the game. The first two were dots, and I still thought that one will miss which I will hit,” he said.
“There is always pressure. This is my first season. There’s also pressure in the practice matches. You have to perform there as well if you want to get into the team’s playing XI. Before that, you do well in the domestic circuit and that is also a reason you are here. That pressure is always there, but it also provides you with an opportunity that if you can play well here, you will carve out an identity of your own. Pressure is on everyone- from a person playing his 15th match to someone playing their 50th,” he added.
He also dedicated the knock to his father, Dalip Kumar Choudhary, who had a dream that one day his son would be a cricketer and to MS Dhoni, whom he grew up watching finish matches for India.
“I will dedicate this knock to my father. He had a dream even before he got married that his son will play cricket. I watch MS (Dhoni) sir and how he finished the game. I bat in the same position, and I also want to dedicate this finish to him,” he said.
