Punjab Kings’ Ashutosh Sharma plays a shot during their match against Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, in Chandigarh on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Punjab Kings’ batting sensation Ashutosh Sharma said he lived a “dream” when he swept “world’s best fast bowler” Jasprit Bumrah during his team’s IPL clash against Mumbai Indians here.

The 25-year-old Ashutosh put the Bumrah-led Mumbai Indians’ bowling to sword here on Thursday when he hammered seven sixes and two fours to make 61 off a mere 28 balls, a knock which brought PBKS back from the brink after an early collapse.

PBKS were 17/4 inside the powerplay but courtesy the stunning fightback from Ashutosh and Shashank Singh (41), they were able to get close to MI’s 193-run target before losing by nine runs.

It was in the 13th over of Punjab’s chase when Ashutosh got down low on his front to convert an attempted yorker from Bumrah into a full toss and smack it for a six over backward square leg.

“It was my dream to hit a sweep shot against Bumrah. I was practising for that shot but it came against the best bowler in the world – it is a part of the game,” Ashutosh told the media here after the match.

Ashutosh said he was confident of taking Punjab over the line.

“I had belief in myself that I would be able to win the game for the team,” he said.

Ashutosh credited former India player and coach Sanjay Bangar, head of cricket development at PBKS, for his improvement this season.

“Sanjay sir told me that I am not a slogger and that I can play proper cricket shots. It was a small statement but carried a huge meaning for me. I am only following it – I am not a hard-hitter, I am playing proper cricketing shots and that is what has changed my game,” Ashutosh said.

“Back home, I was working with my coach Amay Khurasiya who had told me that the longer you stay on the pitch, the more your team has a chance of winning,” he added.

The right-handed batter, who made some gestures towards the PBKS dugout after completing his fifty, said the celebrations were meant for his team management.

“That celebration was for our Sanjay (Bangar) sir, I have been working a lot with him and I keep asking him questions,” Ashutosh said.

“He gave me a chance, and also the entire Punjab team which showed belief in me. Our head coach Trevor Bayliss, Ashish (Tuli) paaji, Shikhar (Dhawan) paaji, everyone believed in me, so it was for all of them,” he added.

Punjab slumped to their fifth defeat in seven matches as well as to the ninth spot in the points table, but Ashutosh said his side has been playing well.

“Winning and losing are part of the game. How you are playing is something that matters and we are playing well as a team. If we will play well, we will win,” he said.

Mumbai Indians’ pacer Gerald Coetzee conceded his side was tense after Ashutosh’s stunning onslaught.

“He really brought it to us. We just wanted to be really clear tactically what we wanted to do. We executed really well to him in the back end to shut it down and win the game,” the South African bowler said.

“But it was tense, as I think everyone saw. But it was just all tactical discussions,” he added.

Coetzee conceded Mumbai Indians could’ve been better with their slower balls, something that PBKS used perfectly in the first half.

“We just really learned from their innings. We adapted our plans and I think it worked,” Coetzee added.

Mumbai Indians’ captain Hardik Pandya and Punjab Kings’ stand-in captain Sam Curran during the toss ceremony before an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 cricket match between Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Mumbai Indians (MI) at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, in Mohali, on April 18, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Punjab Kings’ cricketer Ashutosh Sharma’s exploits with the willow drew enormous praise from Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya as well as his team’s stand-in captain Sam Curran, with the former terming it an “unbelievable” display.

Ashutosh and Shashank Singh have emerged as the unlikely heroes for Punjab Kings this IPL season but the failure of the top-order has seen the team slump to ninth spot in the IPL table despite the some breathtaking performances from the duo.

On Thursday, Ashutosh virtually took the game away from Mumbai Indians with his 28-ball 61 before PBKS lost by nine runs chasing 193.

Ashutosh also executed a stunning sweep shot against pacer Jasprit Bumrah, something which has not been done quite often against India’s pace spearhead.

“Unbelievable, playing the way he (Ashutosh) did and hitting the ball off the middle. (It is) great for his future. We did speak in the timeout about it, not about how we look, we will keep fighting and make sure (that) we don’t bowl the soft balls. Batsmen played good shots but we were soft in certain overs,” Mr.Pandya said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

The MI skipper heaved a huge sigh of relief with a close win, stating that every player’s nerves got tested in the game.

“(It was a) very good game. Everyone’s nerves got tested. We spoke that the characters will be checked in this game. But (it is) natural (that) you (would) think you are ahead but IPL has a tendency to show that oppositions can come back and how,” Pandya added.

Punjab Kings’ stand-in captain Sam Curran said it was heartening to see youngsters like Ashutosh and Shashank rising to the occasion, despite losing some close matches in the recent past.

“Another close one, I think this team likes a close one, but unfortunately another loss. Another incredible knock from the young guy (Ashutosh), but another close loss,” he said.

“It’s very tough. We have lost a lot of wickets at the start, the way the younger guys have taken the team so close is heartening.” “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 there were a lot of positives to take from such close defeats.

“It’s disheartening to lose close games, but there are a lot of positives in this team. We still have the belief in us, we believe we can turn this around, the sun will come up tomorrow and we will hopefully get on a winning run,” Curran said.

The player of the match Jasprit Bumrah, who bowled a brilliant spell of 3/21 said it was a much closer game than he anticipated.

“(It was a) much closer game than what we thought. (I) want to make an impact early on. In this format, ball swings for two overs, and you want to make use of that,” he said.

Bumrah said the T20 format is cruel for bowlers and is tilted in favour of batters. “This format is a little difficult for the bowlers because the batsmanship is going over, plus the time restrictions and the Impact Player rule. What you can do is prepare your best and back yourself,” he said.

“Go out there and give your best. I try to relay messages from wherever I am on the field. You don’t want to give too many messages,” Bumrah added.