Delhi Capitals’ Ashutosh Sharma smashed the ball straight over the bowler’s head onto the side screen to seal victory against the Lucknow Super Giants.
He then pointed his bat towards the dugout and knelt down, making gestures. He was showing something raising his hands frequently. Mentor Kevin Pietersen could barely contain his joy as their celebration was significant.
Chasing a massive target of 200-plus total at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Delhi lost three wickets in first 10 balls and five batters were dismissed with just 65 runs on the board.
They needed 38 runs off the last 15 balls with only two wickets at hand.
Delhi turned things around and secured an unbelievable 1-wicket victory in style to kick off their IPL campaign.
Delhi’s hero Ashutosh came in at number 7 as an 'impact substitute' and played the match-winning unbeaten knock of 66 off just 31 that included five sixes and five fours.
At one stage, Lucknow were in a dominant position and their total could be even bigger. But they could muster only 209 for 8 as they lost wickets in regular intervals after reaching 170 for 4 in 15 overs.
Mitchell Marsh played a brilliant knock of 72 off 36 deliveries with six fours and sixes while Nicholas Pooran smashed 75 off just 30 balls that included seven sixes and six fours.
Delhi lost Jake Fraser-McGurk, Faf du Plessis and Sameer Rizvi inside the first two overs. The way they bounced back to win the game gave them a significant confidence boost.
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