Delhi Capitals’ Ashutosh Sharma snatched victory from the hands of Lucknow Super Giants, in a thrilling IPL 2025 encounter on Monday. He played an explosive knock of 66 off just 31 balls and was named the Player of the Match which he dedicated to India’s former cricketer Shikhar Dhawan.
The 26-year-old came as a saviour and turned the tables when his team was struggling to chase a target of 210 runs and were at a score of 65/5. In his stellar innings, Ashutosh hit five boundaries and five sixes.
“I just followed 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,” Ashutosh said at the post-match conference.
Ashutosh’s IPL Journey so far
Ashutosh made his IPL debut in the 2024 season with Punjab Kings. In the 11 matches that he played last year, he registered 189 runs at an impressive strike rate of 167.25. Later, he was selected by DC for ₹3.8 Crore at the Mega auction.
“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.”
After winning the POTM award, he dedicated it to his Mentor Shikhar Dhawan.
“Missed out on finishing the game on a couple of occasions in the previous season. The whole year I focused on and visualised about it. Had the belief that if I play till the last over, anything can happen. Want to dedicate this award to my mentor Shikhar paaji.”
Delhi Capitals posted a heartfelt video of Ashutosh thanking Dhawan on a video call. The former looks happy while expressing gratitude to his mentor.
In the conference, Ashutosh praised Vipraj Nigam who also contributed 39 runs off 15 balls for the team.
“Well played to Vipraj. I asked him to keep hitting. He was very calm under pressure,” he said.
Upcoming matches
Delhi Capitals have their next match against Sunrisers Hyderabad on March 30, Sunday. They would want to continue their winning spree and add two more points on the board. On the other hand, Lucknow Super Giants who have their next game on Thursday, March 27, would want to bounce back and register their first win.
