Ayush Badoni: Meet the IPL newbie who has taken the cricketing world by storm

Indian Premier League against Gujarat Titans on Match 28, Lucknow Super Giants found themselves buried under the ground, reeling at 29 for four after a shock top-order collapse. It looked as if Lucknow's first ever outing in cricket's biggest extravaganza was going to be something that they would like to quickly forget as Mohammed Shami's opening burst ripped apart LSG's star-studded top-order. But then walked out into the middle the young 22-year-old Ayush Badoni, who not too many people knew much about. Playing his first ever game in the IPL, the new kid on the block began the repair job with Deepak Hooda. Coming in at a precarious situation, battling the nerves in his debut game and under immense pressure being put by the opposition, Badoni fired an unbelievable 41-ball 54 on IPL debut.

(Photo credit: BCCI/IPL)Stunning the cricketing fraternity, Badoni marked his arrival on the biggest stage and when commentator Harsha Bhogle asked the youngster "where have you been hiding?" during the mid-innings break, Badoni nervously responded "how do I answer that question?" Badoni, who might still not have gotten completely used to the fact that he is playing in the biggest T20 league in the world, on Thursday, yet again showed nerves of steel in a massive run-chase against Chennai Super Kings, taking his team to their first ever IPL win (scoring 19* off 9 balls) and proving to the world that his first knock against Gujarat was not a fluke.

(Photo credit: BCCI/IPL)Almost completely ignored by his state of Delhi in domestic cricket, Badoni's career was nearly ruined but the scouts, think tank and the management of Lucknow Super Giants, including mentor Gautam Gambhir believed in the youngster when no one else did. The Lucknow