The IPL 2025 kicked off on 22nd March, and it didn’t take long to produce one of the most nail-biting finishes of this edition so far. The 18th edition of the IPL has only just commenced, and it has already gotten everyone on the edge of their seats. The Delhi Capitals vs Lucknow Super Giants match has been the prime example to justify that emotion. One player in the match stood out from the rest – Ashutosh Sharma.
To give a quick recap of the match, Delhi Capitals (DC) won the toss and put Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) to bat. LSG put up a mammoth total of 209/8, although at one point, it looked like they were going to post above 250. DC bowlers did well to keep the scoring rate down. When DC started batting, things went haywire for them very quickly.
DC were 7/3, 50/4, 65/5, and then 113-6. All hopes were lost for DC, and they were virtually out of the game. However, Ashutosh Sharma was still standing there like a bright, burning lamp amidst a dark storm. Vipraj Nigam, on the other hand, played an important knock of 39 off 15 balls, but when he too departed, DC were reeling at 168/7. They still needed 42 runs in 23 balls with not a lot of wickets in hand.
In the wake of the falling wickets, Ashutosh Sharma had played a cautious knock of 20 off 20 balls till then. What followed next could only be described as a hurricane in the middle of the ocean. Every time Sharma got the strike, he either hit a boundary or a six. He eventually ended with 66 off 31 balls, having scored 46 runs in the last 11 balls. It was unbelievable striking from him towards the end.
Ashutosh Sharma’s innings become extra special when you note that DC had lost 9 wickets by the end of it. It wasn’t just about scoring runs quickly with big hits but also tempering the pressure of not losing his wicket at any cost. Usually, it is easier to score runs freely when there isn’t the added pressure of losing one’s wicket.
He took down Ravi Bishnoi for a couple of sixes and a four in the 18th over. This was after Bishnoi took the wicket of Mitchell Starc. After that, Sharma hit Prince Yadav for a six and a four, and DC were already 9 down by then. In the last over, Sharma hit Shahbaz Ahmed for a six and won it for DC. It was one of the most spectacular finishes in any T20 game, and Ashutosh Sharma deserved every bit of praise that came his way.
Past Track Record
Cricket enthusiasts will know that this inning by Ashutosh Sharma was not one in isolation. In last year’s IPL, he played a similar inning against Mumbai Indians (MI) for Punjab Kings. He scored 61 off 28 balls and almost won PBKS the game single-handedly. Alas! He failed in the end. MI had posted PBKS a target of 193, and they only won by 9 runs. Although PBKS lost the game, the cricketing world took note of Ashutosh Sharma.
Ashutosh Sharma had been playing handy knocks up until then as well. He had scored 33(15) against SRH, 31(16) against RR, and 31(17) against GT. His consistency among runs, and that too with a high strike rate, made Ashutosh Sharma a lethal lower-order batter. Before that, he also played a few ‘blitzkrieg’ innings in the Indian domestic circuit.
He scored an 11-ball 50 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2023, breaking Yuvraj Singh’s record. He also scored 200 off 60 balls in an inter-railway match. This inning by him got the attention of IPL scouts before he was drafted for Punjab Kings in 2024.
Great Finishers in IPL
IPL has always had a knack for producing some of the finest finishers in world cricket. Be it MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, or Glenn Maxwell, finishers have always played an important part in closing a match in the IPL. Unlike most other tournaments, an IPL match isn’t nearly over even after the asking run rate has soared over 12-13, and the chasing team has lost 5-6 wickets. There is always a strong faith that someone will finish the game for them. This is mainly because it has happened so many times in the tournament’s history.
Most cricket fans still remember the Rinku Singh special knock against GT in 2023, where he took down Yash Dayal for 30 runs off the last over. KKR needed 29 runs to win in the last over, and Rinku Singh hit 5 consecutive sixes to seal the game for them.
IPL had also introduced the ‘Impact Player Substitute’ rule, which allows every team to replace a player with another, either in the bowling or batting department, during the course of the game. Teams usually go for an extra batter by replacing a bowler, or if the situation demands, the opposite – an extra bowler in place of a batter. This rule has further changed the dynamics of the game, especially that of finishers.
Batters score more freely, and finishers are more fearless in their approach. Scores above 200 are a regularity in the IPL 2025 due to the Impact Player rule. Although hitters like Ashutosh Sharma don’t need another invitation, let alone an Impact Player rule, to hit big sixes, the game has certainly changed with this rule.
Assumptions are that there will be many more chases and multiple more big scores (190+) in the IPL 2025. The majority of those matches will be decided upon by finishers.
