Visakhapatnam: Ashutosh Sharma played a scintillating knock under pressure, smashing an unbeaten 66 off just 31 balls, as Delhi Capitals (DC) edged past Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by one wicket in a nail-biting encounter of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at Dr YSR ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium on Monday.
Chasing a daunting target of 210, DC were in deep trouble at 7 for 3 inside the second over after losing Jake Fraser-McGurk (1), Abishek Porel (0), and Sameer Rizvi (4) cheaply. However, Ashutosh’s fearless approach and power-packed strokes revived the chase. He found an able partner in Vipraj Nigam (39 off 15), and together they stitched a 55-run stand that turned the tide in DC’s favour.
Vipraj was in blazing form, smashing boundaries at will. In the 15th over, he took on Prince Yadav with back-to-back fours, first slicing a full delivery past short third and then carving a yorker through extra cover. His stroke play electrified the Vizag spectators and gave DC much-needed momentum.
With 42 needed off the final three overs, Ashutosh launched a brutal assault on LSG’s bowlers, hammering consecutive sixes off Ravi Bishnoi in the 18th over. In the same over, he miscued a low full toss over midwicket, scrambling back for two to bring up his half-century – though at that stage, milestones were secondary to the chase.
The 19th over saw high drama as Shahbaz Ahmed delivered a stunning ball to Mohit Sharma, turning it sharply past his bat. Rishabh Pant failed to complete the stumping, adding to LSG’s frustration. The review for LBW only confirmed that the ball was missing off stump, leading to a roar from the DC dugout.
Despite losing wickets at the other end, Ashutosh remained unfazed, showing remarkable composure in the final over bowled by Shahbaz Ahmed. With 5 runs required off 3 balls, he carved a six, sending the DC camp into jubilation.
Faf du Plessis contributed a steady 29 off 18, while Tristan Stubbs’ 34 off 22 played a crucial role in the middle overs. DC finished at 211 for 9 in 19.3 overs, sealing their first win of the season.
For LSG, Shardul Thakur (2/19) and M Siddharth (2/39) bowled well in patches, but their efforts went in vain. Ravi Bishnoi also claimed two wickets but was expensive, conceding 52 runs in his 4 overs.
Earlier, LSG posted a formidable 209 for 8 in 20 overs, thanks to a blistering 75 off 30 balls by Nicholas Pooran. The left-hander’s innings, featuring six fours and seven sixes, laid a strong foundation. Mitchell Marsh played a fiery knock of 72 off 36 balls, while David Miller’s unbeaten 27 ensured a strong finish. However, DC’s bowlers staged a comeback in the latter half, with Mitchell Starc (3/42) and Kuldeep Yadav (2/20) restricting LSG from crossing the 220-run mark.
