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In the first North Indian derby of the 2025 Indian Premier League, Ashutosh Sharma became the hero for the Delhi Capitals on his debut for the side. The former Punjab Kings player slammed a stunning 66 off only 31 balls, propelling Delhi to a dramatic triumph in their 210-run chase and ensuring they began their campaign on a winning note. With three deliveries remaining, Delhi won after his brilliant innings helped them rally from a dangerous 7 for 3. Despite being hindered by injury, it looked like Rishabh Pant's Lucknow Super Giants were headed for an unexpected win at one point. But Delhi found two local heroes to write a spectacular turnaround, disappointing IPL's most expensive player.
Sanjiv Goenka and Rishabh Pant's interaction goes viral
After the match, the LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka was seen having a chat with captain Rishabh Pant. It's not clear what the conversation exactly was but it can be said that it was about the match. It is also going viral all over social media as last year a chat between Sanjiv Goenka and KL Rahul created a lot of buzz.
Rishabh Pant on the loss
Following a blitz by Nicholas Pooran (75) and Mitchell Marsh (72) to hold the Lucknow Super Giants to a poor 209 for 8 the Delhi Capitals mounted a remarkable comeback. However, LSG captain Rishabh Pant stated that they had enough on the board and it was enough for the bowlers and stated they could have done the basics right.
"I think our top-order batters played really well and I think it was a pretty good score on this wicket. As a team we are looking to take positives from every match and as a team we are looking to learn from it (every match.) The more basics we do right, the more it is going to be better for us in the future. We got early wickets, but we knew it was a good wicket to bat on. We had to keep doing the basics right more often than not. I think they had a couple of good partnerships. One with Stubbs, with Ashutosh and one with one other guy (Vipraj Nigam.) I think he (Nigam) did a pretty good job and took the game away from us," said Pant in the post-match presentation.
"There was enough for the bowlers, but I think we could have done the basics right. We felt the pressure, we are still settling in, but a lots of positives to take from this match. Definitely luck plays a part in this game and if it could have missed his (Mohit Sharma's) pads, it was a chance for stumping. But these things happen in the game of cricket, you can't focus on these things, but rather you need to play better cricket," he added.
DC win in a thrilling chase
Delhi Capitals did not get the start they wanted as they lost their first two wickets inside the first over itself. Shardul Thakur dismissed both Jake Fraser-McGurk (1) and Abhishek Porel (0). Then in the second over M Siddharth dismissed Sameer Rizvi (4). Faf du Plessis and Axar Patel tried to steady the ship but their 43-run stand also came to an end with DC skipper getting out for 22 off 11 balls. Later, vice-captain Du Plessis also returned to the dugout after scoring 29 off 18.
Now, it appeared as if LSG had sealed the job by sending half the Delhi side back to the pavilion. However, it was not enough as Tristan Stubbs hammered 34 off 22 balls but it was the 55-run partnership between Vipraj Nigam and Ashutosh Sharma that revived their hopes. Vipraj played an astonishing inning of 39 runs off just 15 balls.
Ashutosh Sharma completed his fifty in 28 balls and just revived the game for Delhi Capitals. He ensured that even after everything went against them, their side would cross the line. He hit a six and finished the game in style.
