Delhi Capitals unleash 'impact sub' Ashutosh to ruin Pant's debut as LSG skipper
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One of the best things about the Indian Premier League (IPL) is the 'impact sub'. The option introduced in 2023 allows a team to bring in a player from the bench as a strategic substitute. Unheralded Kerala spinner Vignesh Puthur came on an impact sub last night, and picked three wickets, but could not help Mumbai Indians beat Chennai Super Kings.
But on Monday in Visakhapatnam, Delhi Capitals brought in Ashutosh Sharma in the second innings and he played a match-winning 66 not out to help them open their IPL 2025 with a thrilling 1-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants. Rishabh Pant, the costliest player in the league, lost his debut as LSG skipper.
Chasing 210, Delhi found themselves in big trouble quite early. They appeared lost for the most part, going from 2/1 to 2/2 to 7/3. Faf du Plessis' 29 stalled the collapse, but it still continued and by the end of the powerplay, Delhi were 65/5.
The middle order managed to get them back on track, through skipper Axar Patel (22) and Tristan Stubbs (34). Vipraj Nigam, who was impressive with the ball (1/35) did some damage (39 off 15). His dismissal left Delhi at 168/7, needing 42 from 23 balls.
Sharma, who had been going steadily at the other end, exploded. He smashed Ravi Bishnoi for a pair of sixes and a boundary in the 18th to make the chase realistic: 22 needed from 12.
Prince Yadav was dispatched for 10 in his last two balls, taking DC closer, needing 6 off 6. But they got a huge reprieve when Pant reviewed a Shahbaz Ahmed turner that beat Mohit. LSG took a review, but the ball tracker showed that it was missing the off stump by a narrow margin. Mohit stole a single, bringing Sharma on strike, and he finished it off with another massive hit.
Marsh, Pooran fireworks
Earlier, Mitchell Marsh and Nicholas Pooran fired Lucknow Super Giants to 209/8. David Miller hit consecutive sixes off Mohit Sharma in the final two deliveries to get LSG past 200. Had those two big hits not gone the distance, it would have been a travesty of the fine strokeplay displayed by Marsh (72 off 36) and Pooran (75 off 30) because LSG were guilty of throwing away a brilliant start.
The Aussie and his West Indies partner added 88 for the second wicket, taking LSG to 133/2 in 11.4 overs. Together, they clubbed 13 sixes and 12 boundaries, threatening to fire LSG to the 250-range.
But Pant, the costliest player in IPL, couldn't do justice to his hefty price tag and fell for a six-ball duck. Ayush Badoni and Shahbaz Ahmed, too, found it hard to swing freely, perhaps exposing LSG's thin middle-order too early in the season. Shardul Thakur, whose exploits with the bat in domestic cricket had the fans expecting much, was ran out.
Credit to DC's Aussie pacer Mitchell Starc's brilliant bowling at the death, LSG could only add 40 runs from the last five overs. Starc finished with 3/42 and Kuldeep, who got Pant's big wicket, finished with 2/20, while their skipper Axar Patel, who won the toss didn't fetch any wickets, but kept it tidy with just 18 runs given away in three overs, including in the powerplay.
Brief scores: LSG 209/8 in 20 overs (Pooran 75, Marsh 72, Miller 27 not out, Starc 3/42, Kuldeep 2/20) lost to DC 211/9 in 19.3 overs (Ashutosh Sharma 66 not out, Vipraj Nigam 39, Tristan Stubbs 34, Faf du Plessis 29, Shardul Thakur 2/19, Digvesh Rathi 2/31, Manimaran Siddharth 2/39, Ravi Bishnoi 2/53)