IPL 2026: KKR vs LSG Highlights, Match 15 - Stats, Player of the Match & More

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) continue their wait for the first victory of the Indian Premier League 2026 (IPL 2026), as they were stunned by Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Match 15 on Thursday, April 9, at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. After being put in to bat first, Kolkata posted a good score of 181/4 in their allotted 20 overs, riding on contributions from captain Ajinkya Rahane (41 off 24) and Angkrish Raghuvanshi (45 off 33).

In reply, Lucknow thrillingly chased down the target on the last ball, with Mukul Choudhary scoring a jaw-dropping half-century. LSG got off to a good start in their run chase with Mitchell Marsh (15 off 11) and Aiden Markram (22 off 15) adding 41 runs for the first wicket off 25 balls. However, Vaibhav Arora removed both openers in the fifth over to bring KKR back into the game. 

Ayush Badoni walked in at number four and held one end as wickets continued to tumble. However, the youngster ensured that LSG stay in the hunt, scoring a 33-ball half-century. Badoni failed to add any more runs after completing his half-century as he fell to Anukul Roy, leaving LSG on 125/6 in 14.4 overs.

Lucknow were staring down the barrel on 128/7 after 16 overs, needing 54 runs from last four overs. However, Mukul Choudhary turned the game on its head with his 26-ball half-century and took his team over the line on the last ball of the game.

Earlier, Kolkata lost Finn Allen (9 off 8) early in the innings. However, Ajinkya Rahane (41 off 24) and Angkrish Raghuvanshi (45 off 33) ensured that the run rate didn’t suffer with their 84-run stand off 52 balls.

Following their dismissals, KKR were left reeling at 111/4 in 13.2 overs with even Rinku Singh (4 off 7) departing cheaply. It took a 70-run stand off 40 balls between Rovman Powell (39* off 24) and Cameron Green (32* off 24) to help KKR cross the 180-run mark.

Meanwhile, following their win, Lucknow rose to fifth spot on the points table with four points from three matches, while KKR continued to struggle at second last (ninth spot) with just one point from four games.

Best Batter of the Match

Best Bowler of the Match

Player of the Match

Mukul Choudhary was deservedly adjudged Player of the Match for his game-changing innings, which left everyone awestruck. The 21-year-old left everyone stunned with his belligerent batting, hitting sixes at ease and pushed the pressure back on KKR. Choudhary held his nerve in the end and showed great maturity to finish the match without panicking, despite playing just his third IPL game. His innings of 54 (27) also emerged as the turning point of the game.

What did the captains say:

Winning Captain, Rishabh Pant (Lucknow Super Giants):

When we see him (Mukul) in the nets, when you see someone, you can see that, but you know, 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?) One thing I made sure that, personally, sometimes the trust and, when you build 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 and trusting him. First two matches, didn't get away, but in a situation like this, 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. You know, 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.

Losing Captain, Ajinkya Rahane (Kolkata Knight Riders):

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."