Ashutosh Sharma, a batter for the Punjab Kings, enthralled fans worldwide with his outstanding performance against the Mumbai Indians. He talked about his desire to destroy Jasprit Bumrah, the finest bowler in the world, with a sweep.
In an exciting game at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, Mumbai Indians defeated Punjab Kings by nine runs, despite Ashutosh’s heroics, which almost allowed Punjab Kings to pull off the robbery. MI won because to bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Gerald Coetzee’s outstanding performances as well as Suryakumar Yadav’s explosive 78-run innings.
With 78 runs from Suryakumar Yadav, MI defeated Punjab with a score of 192/7. But before Mumbai bowled them out for 183, Ashutosh’s fireworks almost made PBKS chase down the 193-run mark. In Punjab’s losing effort, Shashank Singh and Ashutosh scored the most runs.
In his brief stint of 28 balls, Ashutosh hit seven sixes. He acknowledged having often trained smashing Bumrah’s pitches out of the park in the nets. The youthful player took advantage of an error made by the MI pacer in the 13th over, kneeling and sweeping the ball 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 revealed that he spoke with Sanjay Bangar, the team’s head of cricket development, and that Bangar’s “small statement” had a significant effect on 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.