IPL 2024: Ashutosh Sharma,The Game-changer Who Broke Yuvraj’s Record and Made Every IPL Chance Count

Punjab’s impact substitute Ashutosh Sharma said he was thrilled with the faith shown in him by the PBKS management and support staff after his sensational match-winning knock against Gujarat in Ahmedabad. 25-year-old Ashutosh and 32-year-old Shashank Singh were the unlikely heroes for PBKS as they successfully chased down 200 runs against the former champions in their IPL 2024 clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Thursday, April 4. Ashutosh Sharma said that the full domestic siege with the railways helped boost his confidence. After playing clutch knocks in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy earlier this season, Ashutosh felt no pressure when he stepped out to bat in front of a huge crowd in the world’s biggest cricket stadium in his first IPL innings.

“The confidence was there because the coach and the Punjab Kings management had a lot of faith in me. They were supporting me a lot. They told me, ‘You are the type of player who can finish the game for us’. That confidence, I maintained. I went into the middle and applied it. I am happy to repay the faith shown by the coach,” Ashutosh told the press after Punjab beat Gujarat by 3 wickets. It was in October that Ashutosh caught the world’s attention when he broke Yuvraj Singh’s record for the fastest T20 fifty by an Indian. Ashutosh scored a half-century in just 11 balls for Railways against Arunachal Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. It was a timely blow as it ensured that Punjab did not ignore him in the subsequent IPL auction.

Ashutosh made his T20 debut for Madhya Pradesh in early 2018, but it was only after he moved to Railways that he made his mark. In just his 2nd game for Railways, Ashutosh broke Yuvraj’s record and then capped a productive first Ranji Trophy season with a century against Gujarat in January.

“I didn’t let my mind wander around. I thought these are the situations I have faced in Railways. I thought I will play this chase as something similar. I had a lot of confidence. The confidence to win games for me. Syed Mushtaq Ali’s team gave me confidence. Gave in. I kept telling myself ‘I will’.”

Shashank Singh wins it for @punjabkingsipl 👌

His inspirefeul innings takes them over the line 🙌

Watch the match LIVE on @StarSportsIndia and @JioCinema 💻📱#TATAIPL | #GTvPBKS pic.twitter.com/A9QHyeWhnG

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 4, 2024

‘Shashank and I were not scared’
Ashutosh Sharma shared a 43-run partnership with Shashank Singh, who won the player of the match award on Thursday, hitting 31 runs off 17 balls and 3 boundaries. The 25-year-old looked poised as Punjab recovered from 150 for 6 to chase 200 and take their tally to 4 from 4 matches in the IPL 2024 points table. “It was a very good innings by Shashank Singh. I was confident that he would pull it off. We are both pinch-hitters. We were confident that we would win the match. We were both very calm, we didn’t panic at all,” Ashutosh said. That said, kudos to Shashank for his match-winning contribution.