Rovman Powell scored a 29-ball 34, but KKR ended on the wrong side of a Mukul Choudhary special. | Photo Credit: R.V. MOORTHY

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all-rounder Rovman Powell said youngster Mukul Choudhary’s sensational 27-ball 54 was the primary reason behind his team’s three-wicket loss to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) from a position of winning in the Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter at the Eden Gardens here on Thursday.

“It’s very disappointing. You want to make Kolkata, Eden Gardens, your fortress. Credit to the youngster, he batted really well...That is what the IPL does to young Indian players — turn them into stars. And tonight, it was his night. He played a fantastic innings,” said Powell after his team failed to defend 181 for four and remained without a win after four matches, including three at home.

Asked what KKR bowlers could have done differently to check Mukul, Powell said, “They could have gone to a wide (ball) plan just as we went for the last ball, the last over. We could have gone to a wide plan, after we realised that he’s hitting those short deliveries, maybe a few balls earlier...

“When you are out there and the pressure is on and guys keep telling you or you have a plan, it then comes down to execution.”

On the fairness of Finn Allen’s catch by Digvesh Rathi on the third-man boundary, Powell said, “We thought, as we’ve seen in the IPLs, the umpires have gone upstairs for lesser things and that’s not as close as that. Maybe it was a blunder on their part, but we’re not going to say that is what cost us two points tonight.”

Published on Apr 10, 2026