Lucknow, March 26 -- On Tuesday night as Ayush Badoni unfurled the full range of his strokes at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, it had nearly everyone in the support staff of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captivated. ' It was a practice match between LSG A and LSG B. Pacers Mayank Yadav, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Shami and spinners Digvesh Singh Rathi and M Siddharth tested their skills as did Mitchell Marsh and Himmat Singh with the bat. But the man who caught everybody's attention was Delhi's Badoni, who smashed 25-ball 50 with the help of eight boundaries and two sixes while playing for LSG A first and then struck 15-ball 38 with the help of six hits to the fence and two over for LSG B. In fact, Badoni remained the only batter, who was tested in both the innings. Badoni's batting underlined his growing stature as a middle-order mainstay. His knock featured crisp drives and calculated risks against a competitive bowling attack, signalling a readiness to shoulder bigger responsibilities. With a strike rate of 137.96 in 96 T20 matches in domestic cricket, Badoni, 26, was retained for Rs 4 crore by the LSG ahead of the mega auction last year. He repaid their faith with 329 runs at a strike rate of 148.20 while batting in the middle order. Badoni's journey with LSG has been nothing short of transformative since his debut in 2022. Bought for a modest Rs 20 lakh, the pint-sized batter exploded into prominence with that an 18-run cameo off the final seven balls against Delhi Capitals that nearly pulled off an improbable chase on the home turf in 2023. Over the last three seasons, Badoni has been instrumental in stabilising LSG's batting, often rescuing middling starts in the powerplay overs. In IPL 2023, he aggregated 235 runs at a strike rate of 134, including a gritty 43 against Mumbai Indians. Last season, despite team inconsistencies, his 287 runs at 142 SR highlighted his ability to blend accumulation with aggression. A product of the Delhi's robust cricket ecosystem, he played for India in under-19 and India A side and shone in the Ranji Trophy, scoring over 3,000 runs across formats. He has a List A average of 36.47 for Delhi. For LSG, Badoni evolved from a lower-order dasher to a No. 4 enforcer, complementing stars like Aiden Markram, Marsh and Nicholas Pooran. Coach Justin Langer has praised his "ice-cool temperament," a trait evident in Tuesday's practice outing where he rotated strike and played the pull with panache. "Practice matches are where intent is forged," Badoni said post-game, hinting at lessons from a winter of nets and Delhi domestic stints. Fans in Lucknow, already buzzing from his domestic hero status, see him as the X-factor against pace-heavy attacks. If last night's half-century is a preview, LSG's batting engine is revving up. For a franchise yet to crack the title code, Badoni's bat could be the spark....