Ashutosh Sharma smashed an unbeaten 31-ball 66 © BCCI/IPL As the blockbuster DC-LSG game neared its final act, a moment almost threatened to undo Ashutosh Sharma’s freak innings. He had smashed the last two balls of the penultimate over for a six and four respectively, bringing the equation down to just six needed off the final six deliveries. The problem, however, was that No.11 Mohit Sharma had to take strike for the first ball of the 20th over. Whether he would be able to get that single to bring Ashutosh back on strike was the million-dollar question. As it turned out, Shahbaz Ahmed got one to grip and turn past the outside edge, a nut that would have deceived better batters and Mohit had no chance as he got dragged out of the crease as well. Fortunately for him, Rishabh Pant missed a regulation stumping but then went for an LBW review as the ball had brushed the pad. After a tense few seconds, ball tracking showed it to be missing off stump. Next ball, Mohit eked out a desperate single before Ashutosh finished things with a glory hit. There were plenty of nerves in the final over, especially after the first delivery but Ashutosh stated that he wasn’t too fussed by the tension. “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.” said Ashutosh at the post-match press conference. “I really enjoyed (my innings). My hard work paid off.” When the 26-year-old walked out to the crease, DC were struggling at 65/5 in the seventh over. The required rate was hovering around 10 and with so many wickets lost, chasing a total as big as 210 seemed improbable. However, like he had done in a few games for Punjab Kings last season, Ashutosh went about his job like a silent assassin, plotting his way with subtlety before exploding in a sensational fashion during the final act. According to him, the key was to not complicate matters in such a pressure situation. “I just follow the basics and believed in my ability. I was just following the process. I wanted to go deep as much as possible so that I could hit in the slog overs.” Having debuted in the 2024 season, Ashutosh’s ball-striking skills made him stand out for their effortlessness. He could tonk the ball big, yet it seemed to come with as much grace as power. He had made a strong impression as a finisher alongside Shashank Singh, but the former said that he didn’t want to be complacent this year. “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.” “Missed out on finishing the game on a couple of occasions in the previous season. The whole year I focussed and visualised about it. Had the belief that if I play till the last over, anything can happen. 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.”
