Making his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut, Ayush Badoni had to rush to the ground to save his team after a batting collapse. The 22-year-old Delhi-born batter looked scratchy at the start but made up for it in the death overs and got to his maiden IPL half-century. After an impressive performance, Badoni revealed that he had a sleepless night before his debut.
“I couldn't sleep last night, I was very nervous. After I hit the first boundary, I got confidence,” Badoni told the broadcasters after Lucknow Super Giants’ (LSG) innings.
Badoni was picked for Rs 20 lakh by LSG at the IPL 2022 mega auction. The Delhi-born batter walked out to the middle in the fifth over after Mohammed Shami got three wickets with the new ball and Shubman Gill’s stupendous catch cut-short Evin Lewis’ stay at the crease.
The youngster struggled at first and scored 13 runs from 22 deliveries. He did not get his first boundary till the 14th over of the innings. He accelerated after his partner Deepak Hooda got to his half-century.
“The ball was cutting initially and after six overs it does get flat. I think we have got a good total on the board,” he said.
Badoni went ballistic in the 15th over, hitting Hardik Pandya for a six followed by two fours off the first three deliveries. He slog swept, played lap shot and used Hardik's pace to find boundaries. He even managed to impress Rashid Khan after sending his googly over the fence. He got his first reprieve in the 18th over when Lockie Ferguson dropped an easy one off Shami's bowling. In the penultimate over, he rubbed salt on Ferguson's wounds by hitting him for a six to reach his half-century. He got out in the final over. He faced 41 deliveries and scored 54 runs with the help of four fours and three sixes.
“I wasn't looking at the score, I was just batting and wasn't thinking of my fifty. I just wanted to play my natural game. I realized I got a fifty only after I got there,” he added.
