'Great Players Finish...': How Pietersen's Mantra Helped Ashutosh Pull Off Heist
Coming in at 65/5 in the seventh over, Ashutosh Sharma stayed on till the end to ensure that Delhi Capitals could go past the 210-run target.
Delhi Capitals allrounder Ashutosh Sharma on Monday pulled off a heist against the Lucknow Super Giants, to snatch a win from the jaws of defeat as his team began their IPL 2025 campaign on a massive high, countering the opponent’s power-hitting with the same during a massive chase.
Coming in at 65/5 in the seventh over, Ashutosh stayed on till the end to ensure that Delhi could go past the 210-run target.
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The franchise on Tuesday shared a heartfelt interaction between mentor Kevin Pietersen and Ashutosh, where the former is seen telling the youngster how finishing games off makes for a great cricketer.
“The stepping stones from there are to finish games off. You know what I mean? Getting your team into a great position is one thing, but the great players finish games off," Pietersen is heard saying in the video.
Ashutosh said after the match that he spent the entire year visualising the finishing line after pulling off the miraculous heist for Delhi against Lucknow in Vishakhapatnam.
Ashutosh had attracted attention with his brilliant finishing skills in IPL 2024 when he turned up for the Punjab Kings.
It is just three days into this season but Ashutosh, who plays for Railways in domestic cricket, was pleased with his brilliant, unbeaten 66 off 41 deliveries that brought Delhi back from the dead on Monday.
Ashutosh was quick to highlight the role played by Indian Premier League debutant Vipraj Nigam as the duo changed the course of the match after Delhi found themselves down and out at 113/6 chasing 210.
It was the debatable Impact Player rule that permitted Ashutosh to play the knock of his life.
Ashutosh changed gears after collecting 20 runs off the first 20 deliveries he faced.
“Missed out on finishing the game on a couple of occasions in the previous season. The whole year I focused on and visualised it. Had the belief that if I play till the last over, anything can happen," Ashutosh said while speaking after the match.
“Well played to Vipraj. I asked him to keep hitting. He was very calm under pressure. Want to dedicate this award to my mentor Shikhar (Dhawan) paaji," Ashutosh added.
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