New Delhi: Ashutosh Sharma stunned Lucknow Super Giants with a late order blast to pull Delhi Capitals to an improbable victory in the 2025 Indian Premier League in Visakhapatnam.
Turning put for Punjab Kings in last year’s IPL, Ashutosh’s power hitting and ability to finish matches caught the attention of many. Though in his own words, he wasn’t satisfied with his overall performance.
It led him to dwell on it and seek ways of improvement that got reflected during his 66 not out off 41 balls that helped Delhi chase down a 210-run target with five balls to spare in a one-wicket win.
Coming on as an Impact Player, Sharma scored 20 runs off the first 20 balls he face and then shifted gears to score 46 runs of the next 11 deliveries, finishing the game with a six, the last of his five hits over the fence.
“Missed out on finishing the game on a couple of occasions in the previous season. The whole year I focussed and visualised it. Had the belief that if I play till the last over, anything can happen,” he said after the match.
‘Dedicate it to mentor Shikhar’
Ashutosh also praised IPL debutant Vipraj Nigam as their partnership altered the flow of the game after Delhi Capitals slumped to 113 for six.
“Well played to Vipraj. I asked him to keep hitting. He was very calm under pressure. Want to dedicate this award to my mentor Shikhar (Dhawan) paaji,” Ashutosh said.
“Last year was really good but that’s history for me. I have taken the positives from there and worked on myself, to improve whatever weaknesses I had. I’m applying what I did in domestic cricket.
Delhi needed six off the last over and Ashutosh said that he was confident of pulling off the win despite not being on strike.
“I was confident. It’s part of the game. Whether it’s an appeal or not a run. It wasn’t part of my batting, so I was confident that if he took a single, I would be able to hit a six. I was really confident about my ability,” he said.
Ashutosh Sharma’s 66 not out off 41 balls helped Delhi Capitals beat Lucknow Super Giants by one wicket. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
