Kolkata Knight Riders vs Lucknow Super Giants, 15th Match, Indian Premier League 2026 - CommentaryKKR vs LSG, 15th Match, Indian Premier League 2026 - Commentary

What a finish two nights in a row. Looks like the IPL is heating up nicely. Tomorrow we have RR taking on RCB. That should be a blockbuster clash. Both sides unbeaten. And both sides in top form. On that note we escape from here. Join us for that game. Bye bye.

Mukul Choudhary | Player of the Match (translated from Hindi): My journey actually started even before I was born. My father had a dream that one day his son would play cricket. But back then, our family condition wasn’t strong, so I couldn’t start early. I began playing at around 12-13 years of age. There weren’t many academies at that time. One academy was there in Sikar at that time, SBS Cricket Academy, had just opened, and I trained there for about 5–6 years. After that, I moved to Jaipur because if you want to play at a higher level, you have to move forward. I’ve been practicing in Jaipur for the last four years. Then last year, I felt that T20 cricket had become much faster, especially at this level, so I needed more match experience. I stayed in Gurugram for 3-4 months and played matches in Delhi, which helped me a lot in adapting to faster-paced cricket. That’s been my journey. (when did your dad realise that he could become something big?) My father tells me about one Under-19 match against the UP - it was a low-scoring game, no-one else really performed in that game, but I scored runs. That day, he felt confident that I could make it. (on not having played much under lights before) This is just my 2nd match under lights. (on playing under pressure) There is pressure, sir. But I think that God has given me this opportunity, so I just believe in my ability. This is a chance where you can become something big or make a name for yourself. So I focus on the opportunity, not the pressure. (on what was the plan when Shami got out?) My plan was simple - I wanted to stay till the end. I trust myself that if I remain not out till the last, I can win the game. I just focus on playing my shots. If the ball comes into my area, I’ll hit it. The rest, whatever happens, happens. (favorite six he hit?) The first one. I hadn’t hit a six in the previous two matches, so that first six was special for me. That was good too (the one over point which he hit for six), sir… but the first six was the most special for me. (what was his thinking before the 5th ball of the last over?) My thinking was that even if the bowler delivers four perfect balls, at least one will come into my zone. I just need one ball to hit a six. I was waiting for that ball - it could be the second-last or even the last ball. But I knew I would get it. (on his preparation for hitting sixes) Since childhood, I’ve always played attacking cricket. I’ve always been someone who hits. Now I understand my game better - if the ball comes into my area, I know I have to hit it. (on coming from a place called Jhunjhunu where lot of people serve in the Indian army, and you played like a Jawan tonight) Yes sir… It's in my blood. I'm doing it here but they serve the country at the border.

Rishabh Pant | LSG captain: "When we see him (Mukul) in the nets, when you see someone, you can see that, but when you do it in the match, it just feels amazing. Yeah, like I don't have words to describe. It's just overwhelmed from the match, but what a fantastic effort. (do you understand players coming from smaller cities?) Definitely. One thing I made sure that, personally, sometimes the trust and, when you believe in someone as a player, as a captain, they have a trust of the management, a player can do wonders, having that trust, I think definitely plays a big role. (what does that do to the belief and the confidence of the side in your view?) It's definitely the character, character with each and every match like this, someone putting a hand up, it shows that something is building for sure. We don't want to talk much about that, but at the same time, we know something good is cooking inside and hopefully it's gonna flourish soon. (about Badoni) This is what, he's been like now a senior pro in our team. That's the kind of role we have given him, trusting him. First two matches, didn't get away, but in a situation like this, bread and butter. When we talk about Badoni, these are the kind of situations what you want to see from Badoni, in these kind of situations. And he played an amazing role today. He's (Shami) not getting any young, I guess, but his experience, the kind of experience he brings to the side and it's so invaluable. Sometimes every match doesn't work out, but at the same time having someone like him, it's so amazing with especially, and not only just Shami bhai, the whole bowling unit does an amazing job."

Ajinkya Rahane | KKR captain: "Tough one to take. Really proud of the boys, for the way we played. I thought Mukul's (Choudhary) knock was defining. The way he played his shots, he was brave. But again, games like these, you don't want to pinpoint too many things. I thought till 18 overs, we were going really good. Last two overs, execution here and there can happen. But credit to Mukul and that partnership. (pace off into the wicket length had worked well for you) Yeah, those deliveries did work. For them (LSG), it was nothing to lose. Two overs, 30 runs to win. Every ball it was about swinging. And I thought as I said he was really brave to play those shots. There were some brilliant shots. I thought there a couple of brilliant deliveries (bowled), but the way he batted was amazing. Nothing, I mean, probably in the fielding, I'd say a couple of misfielding [misfields], but apart from that, I thought our bowlers did a brilliant job. (how he looks back at the game) See, when you lose a game you can easily think about things we could have done better. But as I said, batting-wise, the partnership Anki (Raghuvanshi) and me had and then Rovman Powell and (Cameron) Greeny, I thought 180, 185 was a very good total on this wicket. Wasn't easy to play big shots. Slow balls were stopping, it was hard to hit. But in the end, I thought, let's give credit to the batter, the way he (Mukul) batted. (any thought to crowd Avesh for the first ball of the last over?) The intention was to keep Avesh (Khan) on strike. But again, we had to keep five fielders up because of the field restriction and the time limit. So it's tough on bowlers as well. When you have five fielders inside the circle, especially bowling the last over, it's tough."

Stats by Shashikant Singh

* This is LSG’s fifth win in seven H2H contests against KKR, including three wins at Eden Gardens out of four IPL games.

* This is LSG’s second win on the last ball while chasing after their 1-wicket win against RCB in Bangalore in 2023 (chasing 213).

* Seven sixes by Mukul Choudhary is the most by a LSG batter while batting at No.7 or below.

* Seven sixes by Mukul is also the joint-most by a batter while batting at No.7 or below in a successful IPL run chase alongside DJ Bravo’s seven sixes for CSK vs MI at Wankhede in the 2018 season opener.

* 54* runs stand between Mukul and Avesh is the highest for the 8th wicket or lower in a successful run chase.

LSG batters playing the pull shot vs Pace today
Runs: 43
Balls: 24
Dismissals: 4
Avg: 10.75
SR: 179.16
4s/6s: 2/5

KKR seamers today (by lengths)
Full: 0/23 (10 balls), ER: 13.85
Good: 0/26 (21 balls), ER: 7.42
Short: 4/82 (42 balls), ER: 11.71

KKR pacers today (by variations)
Slower ones: 2/69 off 31 balls, ER: 13.37
Other deliveries: 2/62 off 42 balls, ER: 8.85
*excluding wides

23:25 Local Time, 17:55 GMT, 23:25 IST: A fantastic finish here. Mukul Choudhary take a bow. Tom Moody spoke highly about the youngster and his power-hitting earlier, and why they went for him. Today Mukul has repaid the faith everyone has had. A tough pill to swallow for KKR. They were ahead and had the game all but sewn up but Mukul came out of the syllabus for them. Except Badoni and Mukul who both made 54, the others didn't make many. Narine was superb in his four overs. When wickets kept falling and with Badoni gone after his fifty, the game was in KKR's bag but Mukul had other ideas. His Helicopter shot over long-on and the six to tie the scores over sweeper cover will be remembered for a long time. Not to forget the forehand six over long-off. Showing off his immense talent and power in his forearms. KKR still are searching for their first win. Stay tuned for the post-match stuff.

Avesh Khan has the helmet off. Only 3 fielders outside the ring. KKR want to prevent the single. Will we have a Super Over? We saw Buttler win it for GT last night, who will be the hero tonight?

More chat between Rahane and Vaibhav Arora. More furious chewing from Langer. Russell is chuntering away in the KKR dugout. Kane Williamson the cool cat blows a bubble from his bubblegum. What a game this is. 7 off 4. LSG certainly believe. Deep backward point and sweeper cover. Long-on and deep mid-wicket the fielders back. Vaibhav wants a change. He gets it. A nod from Mukul to Avesh Khan. From round the wicket. Will this break change the momentum?

13 off 5. More importantly Mukul Choudhary is on strike. Rahane adjusting the field. Langer chews on his bubblegum furiously.

14 off 6. It's Vaibhav to bowl. Rahane has a chat. An over-rate penalty - one more fielder inside the ring. Anyone up for a Super Over? Or multiple ones? The night is still young.