Kolkata: Mukul Choudhary defied the pressure with an unbeaten 54 off 27 balls to guide Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) to a thrilling three-wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), chasing 182 on the final delivery in IPL 2026 at Eden Gardens on Thursday.
Earlier, KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane (41) and Angkrish Raghuvanshi (45) laid a solid foundation, while Rovman Powell's unbeaten 39 provided a late surge to help post 181 for four in 20 overs.
LSG's chase began briskly on a sluggish pitch, with Aiden Markram (22) and Mitchell Marsh (15) blasting 41 in four overs at over 10 an over. But KKR struck back, as Vaibhav Arora claimed both in the fifth over.
Captain Rishabh Pant (10) and Nicholas Pooran (13) faltered, leaving Ayush Badoni to anchor with a gritty 54 off 34 balls (seven fours, two sixes). His dismissal after reaching fifty piled on the pressure.
Mukul then seized control, unleashing sixes to keep LSG alive. Needing 14 off the last over, he smashed two maximums and scampered a single on the final ball for his 26-ball fifty. LSG finished on 182 for seven.
Put in to bat, KKR started steadily against Mohammed Shami's tight opening over (six runs). Finn Allen fell for nine to Prince Yadav, but Rahane and Raghuvanshi's 84-run stand propelled them to 98 for one by the 10th over.
Digvesh Rathi removed Rahane (41) in the 11th, followed by Manimaran Siddharth trapping Raghuvanshi (45). A middle-order stutter followed Rinku Singh's cheap dismissal, but Powell (39*) and Cameron Green (32*) accelerated to 181 for four.
LSG's Prince Yadav, Avesh Khan, Digvesh Rathi, and Manimaran Siddharth claimed a wicket apiece.
Brief scores: KKR 181/4 in 20 overs (Raghuvanshi 45, Rahane 41, Powell 39*; Rathi 1-25, Siddharth 1-34) lost to LSG 182/7 in 20 overs (Choudhary 54*, Badoni 54; Anukul Roy 3-32, Arora 2-38) by three wickets.
(Inputs from IANS)