CHENNAI: At one point Ashutosh Sharma was batting on 19 off 19 at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam on Monday. The required run-rate for Delhi Capitals had gone up to 13.42 and Lucknow Super Giants had just removed Tristan Stubbs. 94 runs from 42 balls seemed like a mountain too high to climb.
But Ashutosh knew what he was doing. This is what he did for Punjab Kings last season and that is why LSG signed him for `3.8 crores and sent him in as an Impact Player. Even DC knew that. What they, and even most of fans watching, were not ready for was Vipraj Nigam.
The Uttar Pradesh all-rounder who rose to prominence with his bowling in UP T20 League smashed 17 off the Ravi Bishnoi over. Another 15 off Shahbaz Ahmed in the next over meant Ashutosh had a breathing space. Soon, he got going. A six and four off Prince Yadav from Ashutosh was followed by a couple of boundaries from Nigam. 20 runs came off it, cumulatively adding to the 52 runs they had scored in the last three overs.
Nigam got out for 39 off 15, but Ashutosh took over. He played his finisher role to perfection, taking calculative risks, attacking every single bowler along the way. He did so even as wickets kept falling at the other end. It came down to six off six with just one wicket in hand. That, however, was not going to stop Ashutosh as he sealed of the chase with a six downtown — 66 not out off 31 balls. Ashutosh had become the Giants killer for the Capitals.
Marsh, Pooran show
On February 3, 2025, Mitchell Marsh, who had been dropped from the Australian Test team, was at the Cricket Australia annual awards narrating a story. He had had a horrid summer with the bat against India, especially Jasprit Bumrah, and lost his place in the side.
He was at home as Australia toured Sri Lanka and was playing some backyard cricket where his four-year-old nephew Ted imitated Bumrah's bowling action. "We were playing backyard cricket the other day and he came to me with Bum's (Jasprit Bumrah) action. And nightmare continued," said Marsh sending the room to a laughter riot. That is just how Mitch Marsh is. So secure of himself and unserious about his image.
Cut to March 24, 2025. Marsh is in Visakhapatnam. There is no Bumrah in front of him, but that is a different issue altogether, and Marsh was smashing the ball all around as hard as he always could. For a team that had a bewildering auction and is plagued with injury, LSG needed Marsh to come to the party and he did so in their first game of the season. His 36-ball 72 set the ton before Nicholas Pooran, the big retention player, took charge. The West Indian smashed 28 runs off Tristan Stubbs on his way to a 30-ball 70. The duo put together contributed 142 in 11 overs while the remaining including Rishabh Pant could only manage 67 off the remaining nine as LSG got to 209/8.
Pant falters
Meanwhile, LSG skipper Pant, who is also the most expensive player of the IPL, did not have a good start to the season, getting out for a duck after facing six balls. Pant, whose last professional outing across formats came on January 24 during the Ranji Trophy, had since warmed the bench through the India-England ODI series and Champions Trophy. Which is why, even before he walked out bat amidst a batting bonanza from Mitch Marsh and Nicholas Pooran, Pant was under the lens. While still being the most important batter of the Test team, Pant is not a regular in the white ball set up. He had left the Delhi Capitals and was signed for `27 crore, perhaps the highest any cricketer has been signed for across T20 leagues, by Lucknow.
Things got only worse as the evening progressed. Pant made questionable bowling changes, dropped a catch, missed a run out and a stumping as Capitals won the contest out of nowhere. One bad day might not necessarily represent the quality of Pant, but if he isn't able to turn things around, the pressure of price tag and captaincy will only inflate from hereon.
