Ashutosh Sharma played a sensational unbeaten innings of 66 to lead the Delhi Capitals to a thrilling one-wicket victory with three balls to spare over Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL on Monday.
Making a memorable debut as an impact substitute, Ashutosh rescued his team from a precarious position of 65/5, guiding them to their target of 210 in the last over in Visakhapatnam.
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With 22 runs needed off the final two overs and six runs to win with just one wicket left, Ashutosh held his composure and struck the winning six.
LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka spoke to the squad in the dressing room after the heartbreaking defeat to open the season.
“Lots of positives that I take away from this game in batting, in bowling. The way we had the powerplay in both innings was brilliant. These things happen,” he said referring to a surprise loss despite being in a strong condition for most of the game. “We are a young team, let’s look a the positives, and look forward, from tomorrow, to the 27th. And hopefully, we’ll have a better result. Disappointing result (tonight), yes. But, great game. So, well done,” he added.
During the chase, Delhi stumbled early, finding themselves at 7-3 by the second over, and then lost their fifth wicket for just 65 runs when Faf du Plessis was dismissed for 29 in his first game for the franchise.
New captain Axar Patel contributed a brisk 22, while Tristan Stubbs added 34. However, when Stubbs was bowled by Manimaran Siddharth after hitting back-to-back sixes, Delhi was in deep trouble at 113-6, requiring 97 runs from just 7.3 overs.
A crucial partnership of 55 runs off 22 balls between Ashutosh and IPL debutant Vipraj Nigam, who scored 39 off 15 deliveries, kept the chase alive. Though Nigam fell in the 17th over and two more wickets tumbled, Ashutosh proved his new mentor Kevin Pietersen right, who had predicted during the innings break that he would deliver something special.
With six runs needed in the final over, number 11 Mohit Sharma narrowly escaped being stumped when the ball grazed his pad as he stepped out of his crease, and Lucknow captain Rishabh Pant missed the catch. The batters managed to scramble a single off the next ball, setting the stage for Ashutosh to clinch a dramatic victory by hitting his fifth six off Shahbaz Ahmed.
LSG will next face the high-scoring Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on March 27.
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