LSG’s Mukul Choudhary credits Rishabh Pant’s advice on overcoming overthinking for his match-winning 54 off 27 balls against KKR. Pant told him to trust his natural game, which Choudhary believes was key to his stellar IPL 2026 performance.
Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) batter Mukul Choudhary has revealed a conversation with skipper Rishabh Pant, which helped him overcome overthinking. He said Pant advised him to trust his natural game, focus on the basics, and avoid unnecessary pressure, guidance that Choudhary believes made a key difference in his performance.
Choudhary produced one of the standout finishes of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. He played a key role in his LSG’s stellar victory against the Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday. He slammed 54 runs off 27 balls, laced with seven sixes and two fours. His stellar performance guided LSG to a three-wicket win in a final-ball thriller.
‘Just focus on your job’: Choudhary on Pant’s advice
He also credited his improved composure for his match-winning performance, saying he has worked on staying calm and batting deeper into innings over the past few months. He emphasised that taking the game till the end gives him confidence to finish matches for his team. “The main thing is calmness. Over the last one or two years, earlier I used to rush a bit, but in the past few months, I’ve worked on this in practice, so that I want to bat as long as possible. If I take the game till the end, I believe I can win it for my team,” Mukul said at the post-match press conference.
“Even in the last match, I played 4 to 5 balls, I didn’t get out, but I wasn’t timing it well. So I spoke to Rishabh bhai. He told me that I was overthinking, thinking I would do this, I would do that. He said don’t think so much. Just focus on your job, your process, what you’ve always done. If you overthink, you’ll feel pressure. Watch the ball. When you hit it, you hit it well. I believe in you, but you need to believe in yourself too,” he added.
Record-breaking partnership with Avesh Khan
Choudhary stitched a vital 50-run stand with Avesh Khan. Choudhary and Avesh Khan’s unbeaten 54-run stand was also the highest for the 8th wicket or lower in a successful IPL chase.
In a unique match-winning effort, Mukul scored 52 of those runs, while Avesh played his part with 1*(3) at the other end. (ANI)
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