KL Rahul, the captain of the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), praised teenager Ayush Badoni for his brilliant IPL debut against Gujarat Titans at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Monday.
Badoni hit 54 runs in 41 balls against a Gujarat Titans bowling attack headed by Mohammed Shami.
In the early overs, Shami’s blistering stint reduced LSG to 29/4 before Badoni joined all-rounder Deepak Hooda at the crease. The pair saved Lucknow from a low score in the first innings by putting up an 87-run fifth-wicket partnership to help their team to a respectable total of 158/6 in 20 overs.
Badoni hit some fantastic strokes against Shamia and Lockie Ferguson’s blistering speed and Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan’s magical deliveries. In his tenacious innings, the 22-year-old struck four boundaries and three sixes before being replaced by Varun Aaron in the final over.
Ayush Badoni’s decision to leave us four down was not ideal: Rahul KL
Rahul praised the Delhi youngster’s valiant efforts and dubbed him ‘Baby AB,’ a term also given to South Africa’s precocious talent Dewald Brevis, who is playing for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2022. Badoni’s success is expected to continue over to the rest of the competition, according to the LSG captain.
He’s baby AB (Ayush Badoni). From the beginning, he has been outstanding. He packs a punch and plays 360 degrees for a tiny guy, and I’m proud of him for seizing the chance. After LSG’s five-wicket loss to Gujarat Titans, Rahul told official broadcasters, “It wasn’t ideal for him to come out with us four down, but he played well under pressure and hopefully he can keep doing that.”
LSG were defeated by Titans all-rounder Rahul Tewatia, who scored 40 runs off 24 balls in the slog overs to help his team win their first game of the competition.