Shortly before the halfway mark of the Delhi Capitals (DC) chase against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), Kevin Pietersen appeared on TV. The DC innings was in the doldrums when their team mentor went on air. Wickets were falling in a heap, but the former England heavyweight insisted that they still had some ‘wonderful strikers of the cricket ball’ to come.
Among the names he took were Ashutosh Sharma and Vipraj Nigam. Ashutosh was impressive for Punjab Kings in his debut IPL season in 2024. Nigam was playing the first IPL game of his life. The two brought the team back and after Nigam’s departure, Ashutosh produced one of the best counterattacks by an uncapped Indian in a winning cause in the recent history of the competition.
The celebration on the pitch after winning the match with a straight six in the last over was a tribute to the South African-born England stalwart, and Ashutosh acknowledged his contribution after the match. “It’s good to have a legend like KP in the dressing room,” said DC’s Impact Player. “It’s a big opportunity for us. I always talk to him, about batting in his time and in our times.”
Coming in at 65/5 in the seventh over in pursuit of 210 to win, Ashutosh didn’t seem to be all at sea, but he was circumspect. Tristan Stubbs and Nigam did the heavy hitting in the partnerships he shared with them. The 26-year-old, who started playing domestic cricket for Madhya Pradesh before shifting to Railways, was on 20 off 20 with two fours to his name.
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And Ashu took it seriously 🥶 pic.twitter.com/GMnAuLkaXn
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) March 24, 2025
Due to the enterprise of Stubbs and Nigam, the asking rate was manageable, although wickets were a concern. Ashutosh, who said that he wanted to take the game to the last over, cut loose after losing Nigam. The last 11 balls he faced fetched 44 runs, with five sixes and three fours. The highlights were straight hits off the spinners, the power behind the shots and the composure needed to ensure success in a tense chase.
His previous IPL half-century — 61 off 28 balls with seven sixes against Mumbai Indians last year — couldn’t prevent Punjab Kings losing by nine runs. In Vizag, he set that record right. “Last year, I had done well and taken the team close on a few occasions,” he said. “I have learnt from my mistakes and today my intention was to stay till the end and finish the game. I was confident that I’ll hit those sixes.”
Ashutosh is a big hitter at the national level and made 164 runs in five innings in the T20 championship for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy this season. The strike-rate was 167.34. “I just follow the basics and believe in my abilities,” he said. “I wanted to stay there and bat until the 20th over. I didn’t think too much and just stayed in the present, applying myself.”
That he is No. 7 in a line-up with Nigam at 8 shows DC’s depth in batting. Chasing down 200-plus, after losing five wickets by the seventh over, is uncommon even in the fantasy world of T20 cricket. There was no batting superstar other than the 40-year-old Faf du Plessis in their XI for Monday’s match either. Or did Vizag see the rise of one?