Months after breaking Yuvraj Singh’s record for fastest T20 fifty by an Indian, 25-year-old Ashutosh Sharma made heads turn in his IPL debut. The 25-year-old Ashutosh Sharma it a match-winning 31 off 17 balls vs Gujarat in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
Punjab’s Impact Substitute Ashutosh Sharma said he was thrilled to have repaid the faith that the PBKS management and support staff showed in him after a sensational match-winning knock against Gujarat in Ahmedabad. 25-year-old Ashutosh Sharma and 32-year-old Shashank Singh were the unexpected heroes for PBKS as they successfully chased down 200 against the former champions at the Narendra Modi Stadium in their IPL 2024 clash on Thursday, April 4.
Ashutosh Sharma into limelight after sparkling performances in domestic trophy.
Ashutosh Sharma said a full domestic season with Railways helped boost his confidence. Having played clutch knocks in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy earlier this season, Ashutosh Sharma did not feel pressure when he walked out to bat in his maiden IPL innings in front of a massive crowd at the world’s largest cricket stadium.
It was in October that Ashutosh Sharma caught the attention of the world when he broke Yuvraj Singh’s T20 record for the fastest fifty by an Indian. Ashutosh Sharma smashed a fifty off just 11 balls for Railways against Arunachal Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. It was a timely knock as he made sure Punjab did not overlook him in the IPL auction that followed.
Ashutosh Sharma made his T20 debut for Madhya Pradesh as early as 2018, but he made his mark only after moving to Railways. In only his 2nd game for Railways, Ashutosh Sharma broke Yuvraj’s record and then went on to have a productive maiden Ranji Trophy season, scoring a hundred against Gujarat as recently as January.
“I didn’t let my thoughts wander around. I thought these are situations that I have faced in Railways. I thought I would consider this chase as something similar and play. I had a lot of confidence. The confidence from winning games for my team in Syed Mushtaq Ali gave me confidence. I was telling myself ‘I will do it’.”
This innings came after early stutter from Punjab Kings in chase of mammoth 200.
How chase panned out for Punjab Kings.
Good things come to those who wait. It sure did for young Ashutosh Sharma, who rose to the occasion and came to Punjab’s rescue, alongside Shashank Singh, and led them to a memorable 3-wicket win over the Gujarat Titans on Thursday. GT started strong as with the help of quickfire cameos, especially from the likes of Sai Sudarshan, who chipped in with a blazing 33 from just 19 balls, and Rahul Tewatia at the end, skipper Shubman Gill helped set up his team’s challenging total of 199 runs.
After a debilitating start, and a collapse of quick wickets, Ashutosh came into the crease at 150-6, with Punjab needing 50 more runs to win in less than 5 overs. The hard-hitter, who was reputed for his explosive strike rate of 198 in T20s, was brought in as the Impact Player in the place of Arshdeep Singh, as a last hope with the bat.
The 25-year-old would pay the faith back in spades as he would go on to ravage through the GT bowling ranks and post a quickfire 30 runs in just 17 balls, peppered with 3 fours and a six, setting Shashank Singh up for success.
Sensational batter Ashutosh Sharma opens up after his scintillating cameo vs GT in IPL 2024
Ashutosh Sharma smashed 31 off 17 balls, hitting a six and 3 boundaries in his 43-run stand with Shashank Singh, who won the Player of the Match Award on Thursday. The 25-year-old looked composed as Punjab recovered from 150 for 6 to chase down 200 and take their tally to 4 from 4 matches in the IPL 2024 points table.
“It was a very good innings from Shashank Singh. i had confidence in him that he would be able to pull it off. We both are pinch-hitters. We had belief that we would win the match. We both were very calm, we didn’t panic at all,” Ashutosh said, lauding Shashank for his match-winning contribution.
Punjab were in a spot of bother as Jitesh Sharma, their experienced India wicketkeeper, fell in the 16th over with the side needed 50 from 27 balls. However, Ashutosh Sharma and Shashank kept their cool and delivered a morale-boosting win for the visiting side. Ashutosh Sharma was dismissed in the first delivery of the final over, but he did his job with a sensational cameo. Shashank remained unbeaten on 61 from 29 balls as PBKS went past the finish line with a delivery to spare.
After the match, An elated Ashutosh exclaimed on all those who had shown faith in him and provided him with the opportunity to showcase his talents in the biggest stage.
“I would like to thank the PBKS team for believing in me so much. Feels so good to perform and more importantly the team won, so I am happy about it,” stated Ashutosh.
He also highlighted the faith that his skipper Shikhar Dhawan showed in him in the dire situation, to go in and clinch the win for his team in some fashion.
“Shikhar paaji believed in me so much. I was normal and kept believing that I can do it,” exclaimed the hard-hitter.
‘To Sanjay sir I will thank him so much and he believed in me. He told me a lot of good things. I was normal and believed that I can do it because I have won games for my home team. Back home I was training with Amey Khurasiya sir. He told me when you get a chance you will become a hero.”
Ashutosh Sharma and Shashank Singh combined for an explosive partnership of 43 runs in just 23 balls, which ultimately set Punjab up for a dramatic win, with one ball remaining.