IPL 2024 LSG vs DC: Ayush Badoni, Kuldeep Yadav hog limelight

Kuldeep Yadav of Delhi Capitals and Ayush Badoni of Lucknow Super Giants hogged the limelight with impressive performances when the teams clashed in their Indian Premier League match (IPL) at Lucknow on Friday.

Kuldeep announced his return to competitive cricket in sensational fashion when he spun a web, picking up three wickets—Marcus Stoinis, Nicholas Pooran and KL Rahul— leaving LSG reeling at 77/5 in one stage.

Once his spell was over, it was Badoni who resurrected the Lucknow innings with a well-made 55 off just 35 balls. Badoni and Arshad Khan (20 off 16 balls) added 73 runs for the eighth wicket—the highest in the history of the IPL—propelling LSG to a competitive 167/7 in their 20 overs.

Returning from an injury, Kuldeep grabbed eyeballs right when he induced Stonis with a wrong'un, but the batsman only ended up slicing the ball to a backward point.

The spinner produced the best delivery of the match in the next ball when he dislodged and damaged Pooran’s off stump with a gem of a delivery. The ball turned sharply back in, beat Pooran all ends up, and dismantled the off stump.

He got his third wicket in the eighth ball of his spell when he deceived Rahul, who was holding the LSG innings with 39 off 20 balls at that stage, to induce a faint edge that was snapped by Rishabh Pant in an instant. The faint edge went unnoticed, but a DRS review by Pant gave Kuldeep his third wicket.

Speaking to the broadcasters after his heroic half-century, Badoni said he was blessed to finally score for his team. “I enjoyed it very much. My performance wasn’t coming from the last three innings. I feel really blessed. I wanted to take the match deep. Earlier, I wanted to score from the first ball. Thanks to Arshad, who played a great supportive role. I was thankful that he helped us play till the last, and I’m grateful that he helped us cross 160,” he said.