When Ashutosh Sharma arrived at the crease, the situation was dire for his team. A disastrous start had pushed Delhi Capitals to 65/5 in the seventh over. Even the most optimistic fans had a hard time imagining their team to hunt down a target of 210. Ashutosh is no stranger to situations where all hopes of victory are pinned on him.
Last season at Punjab Kings, he had played numerous such explosive knocks that flipped the fortune of his team. Yet, the ask here was just too much. He had seen five batters walking back to the dugout, and now at the crease, what lay in front of his eyes was an insurmountable target. To make matters worse, he is unable to connect the ball. He has played 20 balls, scored as many runs, and saw his batting partner Tristan Stubbs getting bowled. Everything that could go wrong for Ashutosh has gone wrong.
A glimmer of hope for Delhi Capitals arrived when Vipraj Nigam got going immediately, hitting a flurry of boundaries, including two sixes. Ashutosh, however, only managed to unshackle himself in the 16th over, smashing a six and four on the first two balls. These two looked in rhythm, and if they stayed together, Delhi had a chance.
These are the two names Kevin Pietersen, Delhi's support staff, mentioned when he was asked if his team had any chance. If years of listening to Pietersen's commentary has taught us anything, it's that take his opinions with a pinch of salt. But Pietersen would be vindicated here. Ashutosh continued with his assault, even though wickets kept falling. He found himself in familiar territory, and he had spent entire years visualising this situation.
"The whole year I focussed and visualised it. Had the belief that if I play till the last over, anything can happen," said Ashutosh. Unfazed by the chaos at the other end, Ashutosh kept going, hitting a six and the four to finish the penultimate over.
Six runs off six balls is an equation that is always going to work in the batting team's favour, until they are nine down, as Delhi were. Delhi needed a bit of luck to finish the game, and it favoured them when Rishabh Pant missed a rather routine stumping. Mohit Sharma got off the strike on the next ball, and Ashutosh finished it with a brute display of power, a towering six down the ground.
"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," said Ashutosh, who dedicated his Player of the Match award to Shikhar Dhawan.
Ashutosh Sharma played a sensational innings to snatch the victory from jaws of defeat for Delhi Capitals, as his unbeaten 66 sunk Lucknow Super Kings and gave Delhi an improbable victory. Ashutosh struck five towering sixes to turn the match in Delhi's favour. Last season at Punjab Kings, he had played numerous such explosive knocks that flipped the fortune of his team, but he also failed to win the game many times. He went back to the drawing room, worked on his power-hitting, through intense workout, and came as a stronger player. It's just the beginning for Ashutosh. He will finish more such games in future.
