ASHUTOSH SHARMA played a match-winning knock of 66* as Delhi Capitals secured a one-wicket victory over Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL on Monday.
Coming in as an impact substitute on debut, Ashutosh rescued Delhi from 65-5, helping his team chase down 210 with three balls remaining in Visakhapatnam. He hit the winning six with six runs needed off the final over.
Delhi were struggling at 7-3 in the second over and later at 65-5 when Faf du Plessis, playing his first match for the franchise, was dismissed for 29. New captain Axar Patel made 22 off 14 balls, while Tristan Stubbs added 34 to keep the chase alive.
"Be prepared for it now," Axar said after the match. "It's going to be like this only under my captaincy. Things will be up and down a little."
Stubbs was bowled by Manimaran Siddharth the ball after hitting two consecutive sixes, leaving Delhi at 113-6 with 97 runs needed from 7.3 overs.
Ashutosh and IPL debutant Vipraj Nigam, who struck 39 off 15 balls, revived the chase with a quick 55-run partnership off 22 balls.
Nigam fell in the 17th over, and Delhi lost two more wickets, but Ashutosh held firm. Mentor Kevin Pietersen had predicted at the innings break that Ashutosh would produce something special.
After scoring 20 off his first 20 deliveries, Ashutosh accelerated, smashing 46 off the final 11 balls he faced.
With six required off the final over, number 11 Mohit Sharma survived a stumping chance when the ball brushed his pad, and Lucknow captain Rishabh Pant failed to collect it cleanly.
A single off the next delivery allowed Ashutosh to finish the chase with a six off Shahbaz Ahmed.
Lucknow falter after strong start
Lucknow Super Giants posted 209-8 after a strong 87-run stand between Mitchell Marsh and Nicholas Pooran, but lost momentum in the middle overs.
Playing as a specialist batter after recovering from a back injury, Marsh hit 72 off 36 balls, striking six fours and six sixes. He lost opening partner Aiden Markram early but built a strong stand with Pooran, who scored 75 off 30 balls.
Pant, playing his first match for Lucknow against his former team Delhi, was dismissed for a six-ball duck by Kuldeep Yadav.
Lucknow had signed Pant for a record $3.21 million in the November auction after he parted ways with Delhi.
Mitchell Starc bowled Pooran, triggering a collapse. "I think our top-order batters played really well, and I think it was a pretty good score on this wicket," Pant said. "As a team, we are looking to take positives from every match and learn from it."
Starc, who missed the Champions Trophy for personal reasons, finished with three wickets, while Kuldeep took 2-20 in four overs.
(With inputs from AFP)
