Ashutosh Sharma continues to enhance his big-hitting credentials in this Indian Premier League (IPL) season as the Punjab Kings' batsman put a scare in the Mumbai Indians' camp before the five-time champions held their nerves to register a nine-run win.
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Punjab's chase of 193 to win was in disarray at 77/6 when Ashutosh walked into the middle and his 61 off just 28 balls almost stole a victory.
He hit an incredible 7 sixes and 2 fours during his stay.
Ashutosh and Punjab's other shining start Shashank Singh (41 off 25 balls) added 34 runs together, but Bumrah removed the latter to keep Mumbai on top. After that Ashutosh took charge and smashed MI bowlers to all parts of the ground, adding 57 runs with Harpreet Brar (21 off 20 balls).
Among the big hits played by Ashutosh, the one that grabbed eyeballs the most was when he swept MI spearhead Jasprit Bumrah for a six off a free-hit that resulted from a no-ball on the previous delivery.
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Bumrah went for a yorker, but Ashutosh got down on one knee and made it into a full-toss that went sailing into the stands over backward square-leg.
Ashutosh and Brar took the game to 25 needed off 18 balls, but Gerald Coetzee came to the party for MI by removing Ashutosh off the first ball of the 18th over, when he mis-hit a slower delivery and was caught at the mid-wicket fence by Mohammad Nabi.
'It was my dream to play that shot'
The 25-year-old Ashutosh later spoke about that particular sweep shot he played against Bumrah.
"It was my dream to hit a sweep shot off Jasprit Bumrah. I have been practising these shots. It's a game of cricket, so it's very common...When I was playing, I had the belief to pull off a win," Ashutosh said in a post-match presentation.
After the win, MI captain Hardik Pandya talked about Ashutosh's knock, calling it "unbelievable".
"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...(that) we will keep fighting and make sure we don't bowl the soft balls. Batsmen played good shots but we were soft in certain overs.
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Sam Curran, who stood in as Punjab skipper in place of the injured Shikhar Dhawan, also praised the effort of Ashutosh and Shashank.
"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," said Curran.
(With agency inputs)
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