Ashutosh Sharma dedicated his Player of the Match award to Shikhar Dhawan after his match-winning knock against Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2025.
Ashutosh Sharma, who smashed a brilliant 66 off 31 balls on Monday (March 24), powered Delhi Capitals to a thrilling one-wicket victory over Lucknow Super Giants in their IPL 2025 encounter. After his heroic performance at the Dr. YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam, the 26-year-old dedicated his Player of the Match award to former India opener Shikhar Dhawan, whom he considers his mentor.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Ashutosh revealed that he had been preparing throughout the year to finish games after missing out on a couple of opportunities last season while playing for Punjab Kings.
“Took the lessons from last year. Missed out on finishing the game on a couple of occasions in the previous season. The whole year I focused and visualised it. Had the belief that if I play till the last over, anything can happen. Well played to Vipraj. I asked him to keep hitting. He was very calm under pressure,” said Ashutosh.
“I just wanted to execute whatever I have worked hard so far in the practice sessions. I am very pleased and I want to dedicate this award to my mentor, Shikhar Paaji (Dhawan) who is not here at the moment,” said Ashutosh.
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Ashutosh, who was bought by Delhi Capitals for ₹3.80 crore in the IPL 2025 mega auction, came out to bat at No. 7 and played a sensational knock, hitting five fours and five sixes. He built crucial partnerships, adding 48 runs for the sixth wicket with Tristan Stubbs (34) and 55 runs for the seventh wicket with Vipraj Nigam (39).
In a tense finish, when DC needed five runs from four balls with only one wicket in hand, Ashutosh sealed the win by smashing Shahbaz Ahmed for a six down the ground.
Ashutosh had played under Shikhar Dhawan’s captaincy last season for Punjab Kings. Dhawan gave him his IPL debut opportunity, and Ashutosh scored 189 runs in nine innings across 11 matches for the franchise. Dhawan’s guidance clearly had a positive impact on the young batter, who has now emerged as a match-winner for Delhi Capitals.
