Ashutosh Sharma amazed us so much that our nerves were put to the test: MI captain Hardik

Hardik Pandya of the Mumbai Indians and Sam Curran, the stand-in captain for the squad, both heaped admiration on Punjab Kings batsman Ashutosh Sharma for his willow-related feats, calling it a “unbelievable” exhibition.

Although Ashutosh and Shashank Singh have been the unexpected heroes for Punjab Kings this IPL season, the team’s collapse to ninth place in the IPL standings is a result of the top-order’s failure.

With his 28-ball 61 on Thursday, Ashutosh all but ended the Mumbai Indians’ chance to win the match. PBKS fell by nine runs while behind 193.

Ashutosh also produced a breathtaking sweep shot against pacer Jasprit Bumrah, an uncommon move against India’s fastest bowler.

“It’s unbelievable how Ashutosh played and struck the ball right in the center. It’s excellent for his prospects. We did talk about it during the timeout—not about how we look—and we’ll continue to battle to avoid bowling the soft balls. At the post-match presentation ceremony, Pandya said, “Batsmen played good shots but we were soft in certain overs.”

After a thrilling victory, the MI captain exhaled deeply, saying that the game challenged each player’s nerves.

“It was an excellent game. It taxed everyone’s nerves. We discussed how this game would examine the characters. But even though it’s normal to believe you are winning, Pandya pointed out that the Indian Premier League often demonstrates how and when opponents may rally.

Even though the Punjab Kings have recently lost a few tight games, stand-in skipper Sam Curran said it was encouraging to see young players like Ashutosh and Shashank rising to the pressure.

Ashutosh Sharma, a batsman for the Punjab Kings, attempts a shot during Thursday, April 18, 2024’s IPL 2024 cricket match between the Mumbai Indians and the Punjab Kings in Mohali.
As Mumbai defeats Punjab by nine runs, Bumrah excels.
“Another tight game—I believe this squad like close games—but regrettably, another defeat. “Another amazing hit from the young guy (Ashutosh), but another narrow defeat,” he said.

It’s very difficult. It is encouraging that the younger players have brought the team this close after we lost a lot of wickets early on.”

“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,” Curran said.

The Englishman said that there were many advantages to this kind of narrow losses.

“Losing tight games is discouraging, but this club has a lot going for them. The sun will rise tomorrow, and we want to go on a winning streak. We still feel we can turn things around,” Curran said.

Jasprit Bumrah, the player of the match, who bowled a fantastic spell of 3/21, claimed that the game was more closer than he had expected.

“The game was really lot tighter than we had anticipated. I want to have an influence right now. You want to take advantage of the two overs that the ball swings in this style,” he remarked.

According to Bumrah, the T20 format is unfair to bowlers and biased in favor of hitters.

Because of the Impact Player rule, time constraints, and batsmanship going over, bowlers may find this format challenging. All you can do is put forth your best effort and support yourself,” he said.

“Go out and provide your all. On the field, wherever I am, I attempt to communicate. Don’t send out too many messages, Bumrah continued.