The China Mail - Choudhary smashes Lucknow to dramatic IPL win over Kolkata

Chasing Kolkata’s competitive 181-4 at Eden Gardens, Lucknow were in all sorts of trouble at 128-7 after 16 overs when Choudhary, playing only his third IPL match, altered the script with a spectacular display of power hitting.

The powerful right-hander blasted a bouquet of sixes in the last four overs to score 52 off his last 19 balls and leave the home team still searching for their first victory.

Kolkata had recovered from a mid-innings slump after being put in, Rowman Powell providing the impetus with an unbeaten 39 during a 70-run alliance for the fifth wicket with Cameron Green.

Lucknow began brightly through Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram, who put on 41.

But once Vaibhav Arora dismissed both openers in the space of six deliveries in the fifth over, Kolkata applied relentless pressure.

Arora was tasked with defending 14 in the final over, but Choudhary and Avesh Khan scrambled the winning bye with one needed off the last ball.

Kolkata lost Kiwi opener Finn Allen in the second over of the contest, caught at third man off Prince Yadav, and were shackled in the first four overs by Mohammed Shami's accuracy and swing, but once skipper Ajinkya Rahane and Angkrish Raghuvanshi spent a little time in the middle, they began to find their range.

The floodgates opened in the sixth over when Raghuvanshi smacked Avesh for two fours and a six, and with Rahane opening his shoulders, runs came at a decent clip.

The second-wicket pair had added 84 when Lucknow broke through with leg-spinner Digvesh Rathi having Rahane smartly caught at mid-wicket by Shami.

That sparked a mini-collapse with the home side losing three for 12 in 19 balls, including Raghuvanshi for a fluent 45.

Lucknow surged back into contention by conceding just 17 runs from overs 11 through 15, requiring Powell and Green to first steady the ship and then deliver the acceleration.

Green, the most expensive buy at the December auction in Abu Dhabi at Rs 25.2 crore ($2.8 million), shrugged off a sluggish start with a flurry of late boundaries on his way to an unbeaten 32.

Powell was more enterprising, smashing four fours and two sixes, but both were trumped by Choudhary.

W.Cheng--ThChM