Ashutosh Sharma almost pulled off a heist against the Mumbai Indians with his late onslaught during the Indian Premier League clash at Mullanpur, Mohali on Thursday evening.
While chasing a target of 193 set by Mumbai, the Punjab Kings looked down and out at 49 for five. But Sharma almost wrestled the match away from MI's grasp with a blistering 61 off 28 balls. Thanks to Sharma's fireworks, Punjab Kings fell just nine runs short of the target.
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Sharma, who is making his IPL debut this season, has made it a habit of rescuing his team from tough situations. After cameos in his first three innings in the premier T20 league, the 25-year-old powered to his maiden 50 on Thursday evening.
What is Ashutosh Sharma's IPL salary?
Though he hails from Ratlam, Rajasthan, Ashutosh Sharma shifted base to Indore, Madhya Pradesh at the age of eight due to lack of playing and training facilities in his home state.
He struggled to make ends meet early in his career, and would umpire matches just so he could buy lunch. Sharma's career was set back when he was dropped from the Madhya Pradesh state team in 2020.
It was only in 2023 that he made the cut for the Railways team. And Sharma grabbed the opportunity with both hands. He scored an 11-ball fifty in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match against Arunachal Pradesh, breaking Yuvraj Singh's record for the fastest half-century in T20 cricket.
It was the kind of knock that made the IPL teams sit up and take notice.
Sharma was picked up by Punjab Kings in the IPL mini-auction in December in the accelerated round at Rs 20 lakh. He made his debut against Gujarat Titans on April 4.
Which Indian Premier League team does Ashutosh Sharma play for?
Ashutosh Sharma has been one of the finds, along with Shashank Singh, for Punjab Kings this year. Though he has come in with the team in precarious positions, the 25-year-old has taken the game to the opposition with his lusty hitting.
He and Shashank Singh combined to take the team to victory in a thrilling clash against GT.
PBKS are currently placed ninth in the League table, with only two wins from seven matches.
| Matches | Runs | Average | Highest | Strike-rate | 100s | 50s |
| 4 | 156 | 52.00 | 61 | 205.26 | 0 | 1 |
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