Who Is Mukul Choudhary? 54* Off 27 Balls, 7 Sixes — LSG Hero Stuns Eden Gardens | IPL 2026

On April 9, 2026, at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata, a 21-year-old from Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan walked out to bat at No. 7 with his team at 128/7, needing 54 runs off 27 balls. What happened next was nothing short of CINEMA.

Mukul Choudhary smashed an unbeaten 54 off 27 balls — 7 SIXES and 2 fours at a strike rate of 200 — to single-handedly drag Lucknow Super Giants to a last-ball victory against KKR. It was the most viral moment of IPL 2026.

FROM JHUNJHUNU TO EDEN GARDENS — THE INCREDIBLE STORY

Full Name: Mukul Dalip Choudhary · Born: August 6, 2004, Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan · Age: 21 · Role: Right-hand wicketkeeper-batter · IPL Team: LSG (2026-present) · Auction Price: Rs 2.60 crore (base price was just Rs 30 lakh!) · Idol: MS Dhoni

Mukul's story reads like a Bollywood script. His father, Dalip Kumar Choudhary, was a cricket fanatic from Jhunjhunu who dreamed of his son playing cricket before Mukul was even born. Despite financial struggles, Dalip worked as a teacher and later built a small real estate and hotel business to fund his son's cricketing dreams. He enrolled Mukul at the SBS Cricket Academy in Sikar at a young age.

Here is the twist — Mukul did not start as a batter. He was a medium-fast bowler! During one academy match, the team needed a wicketkeeper and nobody volunteered. Mukul put on the gloves — and never took them off. Inspired by his idol MS Dhoni, he transformed himself into an aggressive wicketkeeper-batter with devastating six-hitting power.

When Mukul moved to Jaipur to train at the Aravali Cricket Academy — the same academy that produced CSK's Rs 14.20 crore signing Kartik Sharma and pace sensation Ashok Sharma — his mother and younger sister relocated with him so he could focus entirely on cricket. That family sacrifice is now paying off on the biggest stage in world cricket.

DOMESTIC NUMBERS THAT CAUGHT IPL SCOUTS

A strike rate of 199 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy is absurd — higher than almost any IPL batter's season average. This triggered a 28-bid auction war between MI, RR, and LSG, with LSG winning at Rs 2.60 crore — nearly 9 times his base price of Rs 30 lakh.

IPL 2026 — THREE MATCHES, ONE LEGEND

Match 5 vs DC — The Debut (April 1)

Mukul made his IPL debut against Delhi Capitals, scoring 14 runs before being dismissed by Kuldeep Yadav. A nervy start — but the experience of batting under IPL lights was invaluable. LSG lost this match as Sameer Rizvi's 70* carried DC home.

Match 10 vs SRH — The Quiet Role (April 5)

Against SRH in Hyderabad, Mukul kept wickets as Pant's 68* guided LSG home. He was not needed with the bat but was part of the winning combination that gave LSG their first points of the season.

Match 15 vs KKR — THE KNOCK THAT BROKE THE INTERNET (April 9) 🔥

This is the innings that turned Mukul Choudhary from an unknown name into a trending topic across India.

KKR posted 181/4 at Eden Gardens — Ajinkya Rahane 41, Angkrish Raghuvanshi 45, Rovman Powell 39*, Cameron Green 32*. A solid total on a good batting surface.

LSG's chase was in tatters. Markram, Marsh, Pant, and Pooran all fell cheaply. Ayush Badoni (54 off 34) fought brilliantly but wickets kept falling around him. When Mohammed Shami was dismissed, LSG were 128/7 in the 16th over. The match was over. KKR were celebrating. The Eden Gardens crowd was roaring.

Then Mukul Choudhary decided otherwise.

He was on just 2 off 6 balls when Shami fell. Then he shifted gears like a man possessed. A six and a four off Vaibhav Arora. Two sixes off Kartik Tyagi. The 19th over, bowled by Cameron Green, went for 16 runs — two sixes and a four from Mukul. Needing 13 off the last over, he survived a near-miss chance and then hammered Arora for another six to bring up his fifty in just 26 balls.

LSG won on the last ball. Mukul finished 54* (27). Seven sixes. Strike rate 200.

WHY THIS KNOCK IS SPECIAL

Let us put this in perspective:

• 128/7 chasing 182 — the win probability was below 5%

• He came in at No. 7 with the tail — not a top-order luxury position

• He hit 7 sixes in 27 balls — more than most batters hit in an entire tournament

• He did it at Eden Gardens — one of the most intimidating grounds in cricket, with 65,000 KKR fans screaming against him

• He won it on the LAST BALL

• He is 21 years old, from a small town with limited cricket infrastructure, playing only his 3rd IPL match

LSG's official social media posted just one word after the match: "CINEMA." They were right.

THE DHONI CONNECTION

Mukul grew up idolizing MS Dhoni — and the parallels are striking. Like Dhoni, he started as a different type of cricketer (Dhoni was a goalkeeper, Mukul was a fast bowler). Like Dhoni, he took up wicketkeeping by accident. Like Dhoni, he comes from a small town far from India's cricket centres. And like Dhoni, he has the ice-cold composure to finish matches under impossible pressure.

After the KKR match, Mukul said: "God has given me this opportunity. My aim was to bat till the last and see what happens." That is pure Dhoni energy — calm, fearless, and trusting the process.

WHAT EXPERTS ARE SAYING

Justin Langer (LSG Head Coach): Before the season even started, Langer told captain Rishabh Pant that Mukul could become "the scariest No. 6 or No. 7 batter in India in the next four months." After this knock, nobody is doubting that prediction.

The kid from Jhunjhunu has arrived. And IPL 2026 will never forget the night he silenced Eden Gardens with seven sixes and a smile. 💥🏏