Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) young batter Ayush Badoni on Monday (March 28) caught everyone’s attention in the team’s IPL 2022 opener against Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Badoni played a knock of 41-ball 54 when Lucknow were reeling at 29/4. In the process, the 22-year-old stitched an 87-run partnership with Deepak Hooda (55) and a 40-run stand with Krunal Pandya (21) that helped his side post a fighting total of 158 runs on the board.
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Ayush Badoni recorded his maiden IPL half-century in 38 balls and his knock was studded with 4 fours and 3 sixes.
Following the game, Badoni praised his team mentor Gautam Gambhir for backing him in his initial days.
"Gautam bhaiya backed me a lot. He told me to play just my natural game. He told me you won't get the one-odd match, but you will get a proper run. He also told me, 'you don't need to play according to the situation. There are senior players to do that. You show us your natural game'," said Badoni in a post-match press conference.
After getting unsold for three consecutive seasons, Badoni was signed by LSG at his base price of INR 20 Lakh during the IPL 2022 mega-auction last month.
"I have been in the auction for three years and have gone unsold. I have been to trials for two-three teams but nobody picked me up at the auction eventually. So I am grateful to Lucknow for picking me," said Badoni.
"The last three years have been a bit of a struggle. I didn't get much of a chance with Delhi either. I played only one season and got to bat only once. For that I have enhanced my game, I have added more shots, which has helped me a lot," he added.
In the clash against Gujarat, Badoni was sent to bat, ahead of Krunal Pandya and he proved his worth by producing a special knock.
"In the practice matches for Lucknow, I scored fifties in both the games. Gautam bhaiya liked that, and the other coaches were impressed too. So they believed I could bat ahead of Krunal," said the batter.
Coming to the match, Lucknow Super Giants lost the last-over thriller by five wickets against Gujarat Titans.
Chasing the target, GT rode on Rahul Tewatia’s 24-ball 40* and handy contributions from skipper Hardik Pandya (33), David Miller (30), Matthew Wade (30), Abhinav Manohar (15*) to get over the line with two balls to spare.
(With ANI inputs)
