Punjab Kings batter Ashutosh Sharma captivated fans across the globe with his spectacular display against the Mumbai Indians. He expressed his dream to smack a sweep out of the park against the world’s best bowler, Jasprit Bumrah.
Despite Ashutosh’s valiant performance, which nearly enabled Punjab Kings to pull off the heist, Mumbai Indians edged past Punjab Kings by nine runs in a thrilling match at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur. Jasprit Bumrah and Gerald Coetzee’s superb bowling spells and Suryakumar Yadav’s scintillating 78-run knock powered MI to victory.
Suryakumar Yadav’s 78 runs helped MI post 192/7 against Punjab. However, Ashutosh’s fireworks nearly led PBKS to chase down the 193-run target before Mumbai bundled them out for 183. Shashank Singh and Ashutosh scored the most runs for Punjab in the losing effort.
During his short 28-ball innings, Ashutosh hammered seven sixes. He admitted that he had practiced hitting Bumrah’s deliveries out of the park multiple times in the nets. In the 13th over, the youngster capitalized on the MI pacer’s overstep by kneeling and sweeping the delivery for a six.
“Hitting a sweep shot off Jasprit Bumrah was my dream. I have practiced these types of shots often since sweep shots are common in cricket. When playing, I remained focused on my process and believed I could lead my team to victory,” said Ashutosh in a post-match press conference.
Ashutosh disclosed his conversations with the team’s Head of Cricket Development, Sanjay Bangar, and stated that a “small statement” from Bangar highly impacted the batter.
“Sanjay Bangar advised me, “You’re not just a slogger. You have proper cricketing shots, so focus on refining those skills.” That small statement and vote of confidence from him made a huge difference for me. It transformed my game. Now I’m simply trying to follow his guidance.” commented the youngster.
On Sunday, the Punjab Kings will aim to regain their winning form when they face the Gujarat Titans at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium.