'He’s baby AB for us' - LSG skipper KL Rahul lavishes massive praises on Ayush Badoni

Lucknow Super Giants didn’t make a great start to their IPL 2022 campaign as Gujarat Titans defeated them by five wickets in their opening clash. However, a youngster of theirs managed to make a lot of noise. 22-year-old Ayush Badoni showed tremendous character and slammed a brilliant half-century on his IPL debut. Facing the likes of Mohammed Shami, Lockie Ferguson, and Rashid Khan, the youngster played some delightful shots and scored 54 off 41 deliveries.

Notably, he came out to bat when LSG were reeling at 29/4 in the fifth over. Moreover, the track at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai also had some assistance for the fast bowlers. However, Badoni didn’t put his guards down and played a brilliant knock. While he was watchful in the initial half of his innings, the dasher unleashed big shots in the death overs.

Ayush Badoni has been phenomenal from the first day: KL Rahul

Needless to mention, LSG skipper KL Rahul was mighty impressed with Badoni’s stellar show on debut and he expressed the same in the post-match conversation. In fact, he even hailed the youngster as ‘baby AB de Villiers’ owing to his ability to play shots all over the park.

“He’s (Badoni) baby AB for us. He has been phenomenal from the first day. For a little boy, he packs a punch and plays 360 degrees, so happy for him as he grabbed the opportunity. It was not ideal for him to walk out with us four down but he did well under pressure and hopefully, he can continue doing that,” said Rahul after the game.

Meanwhile, besides Badoni, all-rounder Deepak Hooda also scored a quickfire fifty as the Super Giants posted 158/6 in their allotted 20 overs. Gujarat’s chase wasn’t smooth by any means as they lost wickets at regular intervals. However, significant contributions from Matthew Wade, Hardik Pandya, David Miller, and Rahul Tewatia took the side over the line.

Not to forget, another youngster who bagged the limelight in the contest was Abhinav Manohar Sadarangani, who scored an unbeaten seven-ball 15 as the Titans crossed the line with a couple of deliveries to spare.