Ashutosh Sharma has been the revelation of the IPL season for Punjab Kings, coming to the rescue of his side on at least two occasions. The 25-year-old played a counter-attacking 61-run knock (off 28 balls) against Mumbai Indians on Thursday, which gave his team a chance to get into the game, but it proved to be in vain as Punjab Kings were bowled out for 183. MI eventually emerged victorious by 9 runs.
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During his valiant knock on Thursday, Ashutosh seemed to play the ball on its merits and didn’t even fear the might of Jasprit Bumrah, when he swept the veteran pacer for a six on the leg side. The PBKS batsman’s sweep of Bumrah instantly became the talk of the town among cricket pundits and social media users, with the official IPL handle also posting a video of the shot on its X (formerly Twitter) handle.
Ashutosh also found an unlikely admirer in MI captain Hardik Pandya, who described the batsman’s innings as “unbelievable”, and hinted that it would be a great one for the right-handed batter’s future.
Speaking about Ashutosh’s innings at the post-match presentation, Pandya said, “Unbelievable, playing the way he did and hitting the ball off the middle. (It is) great for his future. We did speak in the timeout about it, not about how we look, we will keep fighting and make sure (that) we don’t bowl the soft balls. Batsmen played good shots, but we were soft in certain overs.”
Punjab Kings skipper Sam Curran also praised Sharma during the post-match show. He said, “They have incredible confidence, you see a guy like Ashutosh having the confidence to play the sweeps and the big hits against pacers, it’s so great to watch them in action,” the PBKS skipper added.
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Published: 19 Apr 2024, 11:49 AM IST