Mukul Choudhary's late assault lifts Lucknow past winless KKR at Eden Gardens
KKR post 181 after strong middle-overs batting
Rishabh Pant won the toss and chose to bowl first, and his pacers made an early impression when Finn Allen fell cheaply. But Ajinkya Rahane counterattacked with 41 off 24 balls, setting the tone with a remarkable six over deep backward point despite losing his grip on the bat mid-swing. Angkrish Raghuvanshi continued the momentum with 45 off 33 balls before the pair departed in quick succession.
Rovman Powell and Cameron Green then took charge in the final overs. Powell's 39 not out off 24 balls and Green's unbeaten 32 off 24 pushed KKR to 181 for four, a competitive total on a pitch that offered something for both sides.
Badoni's fifty steadies the chase before LSG wobble
Lucknow's reply started brightly enough, with Ayush Badoni anchoring the innings through the middle period and bringing up a half-century. Nicholas Pooran contributed with some clean hitting, launching a massive six off Green's bowling, and Pant chipped in as well. But KKR's spinners tightened the screws. Sunil Narine, returning from an abdominal complaint, finished his spell with a wicket, and Anukul Roy removed Abdul Samad in the 13th over to swing the game back in Kolkata's favour.
By the 16th over, LSG had slumped to 128 for seven and the required rate had climbed past 13 an over. The chase looked dead.
Mukul Choudhary turns the match on its head
What followed was one of the more dramatic finishes of IPL 2026 so far. Mukul Choudhary, batting lower in the order, decided there was nothing to lose and started swinging. A helicopter-style six off Vaibhav Arora over long-on announced his intentions. In the 18th over he hammered two more sixes to bring LSG right back into contention, and the equation came down to a manageable ask with enough balls remaining. Lucknow scrambled over the line with three wickets in hand.
KKR's search for a first win goes on
For KKR, the defeat extends a miserable start to the season. They remain the only team yet to register a win in IPL 2026, with their sole point coming from a washed-out match against Punjab Kings. The bowling, which looked to have done the job at 128 for seven, fell apart in the death overs, and questions will be asked about the field placements and selection of deliveries under pressure. Rahane's side travel next with morale running thin.
Lucknow, by contrast, continue to find ways to win ugly. Pant's captaincy and the emergence of Choudhary as a lower-order finisher give them options most teams would envy heading into the tournament's middle stretch.
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