Kolkata Knight Riders remain winless after playing four games in the IPL 2026 season. Against the Lucknow Super Giants, they looked confident enough to claim a win. But Mukul Choudhary, an emerging batter of the Super Giants, spoiled the night for the Knight Riders.
The total was just over 180, which was not a massive total, but definitely competitive, especially after losing multiple key batters cheaply. At Eden Gardens in Kolkata, a day before the weekend, the stadium was not crowded as it was expected to be.
In the away match, the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) got a good amount of support, mainly thanks to Mohammed Shami, who is the local boy for the cricket fans in West Bengal.
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KKR batters secured a competitive total in the first innings
Kolkata Knight Riders went to bat first after losing the toss. LSG started their bowling on a good note by plucking the wicket of Finn Allen. Prine Yadav was the bowler, and Digvesh Rathi was the fielder who took the catch. The catch was a bit controversial as the tip of his boot was very close to the boundary line.
KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi came to the rescue. They dragged the total from 15/1 to 99 for 2. Ajinkya Rahane and Raghuvanshi both missed half-centuries each by only a few margins. The momentum KKR got through the partnership of Rahane and Raghuvanshi suddenly dipped when Rinku Singh bowled out. The way Rinku bowled out against Avesh Khan disappointed the fans.
Cameron Green and Rovman Powell played two crucial knocks for the team. Green’s unbeaten 32 off 24 and Powell’s unbeaten 39 off 24 helped the team to claim a competitive total of 181 in 20 overs in exchange for 4 wickets.
Mukul Choudhary summed up the business in style for LSG
LSG got a promising start with their openers, Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram. In the first four overs, they did not allow the KKR bowlers to make a mark on the contest. A banter came in the 5th over of Super Giants’ run chase when the pacer, Vaibhav Arora, took two wickets in one over.
Arora first dispatched Markram and then Marsh in the same over. Rishabh Pant, the captain of the Lucknow Super Giants, also played a paltry knock before going off guard against Cameron Green. At the Eden Gardens, the pacer of the Kolkata Knight Riders made the rivalry more competitive to watch.
But the game was still on. Ayush Badoni (54 off 34) and Mukul Choudhary (54* off 27) scored half-centuries each under pressure. Mukul remained tall and confirmed the win for the Lucknow Super Giants in the last ball of the match. LSG won by 3 wickets.
Mukul’s knock was defining: Ajinkya Rahane, KKR captain
“Tough one to take, but really proud of the boys for the way we played. Mukul’s (Choudhary) knock was defining. The execution here and there can happen in the last two overs, but credit to Mukul for that partnership. For them, it was nothing to lose, 2 overs, 30 runs, so it was all about swinging hard,” Ajinkya Rahane said after the match in Kolkata.
“A couple of balls were good balls, but he batted brilliantly. When you lose a game, it’s easy to know what you could have done better. 180 odd on this wicket wasn’t easy. Let’s give credit to the batter for the way he batted. The intention was to keep Avesh on strike. We had to field five fielders up, and it’s tough on the bowlers,” Ajinkya Rahane added.
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