Ashutosh Sharma’s heroics bail out Delhi Capitals as captain Axar Patel jokes about his risky decisions and praises rising talents like Vipraj Nigam.
Visakhapatnam, March 25: With a relieved smile and a sense of humor, Delhi Capitals skipper Axar Patel acknowledged that Ashutosh Sharma’s last-over heroics not only delivered a thrilling one-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)—but also saved him from tough questions about his captaincy decisions.
The high-pressure IPL 2025 clash at Visakhapatnam was defined by razor-thin margins. During LSG’s innings, Axar’s unexpected call to hand the 13th over to part-timer Tristan Stubbs—instead of established spinner Kuldeep Yadav or a pacer—raised eyebrows. The result? Nicholas Pooran launched four consecutive sixes, hammering 28 runs off the over.
Addressing the decision in the post-match presentation, Axar said candidly:
“Make it a habit—this is how it’s going to be under my captaincy. My decision-making is also up and down. Sometimes people will be angry. But right now, we won, so no one will say anything.”
Despite early struggles and a dropped catch of Pooran by Sameer Rizvi, DC managed to pull things back and restrict LSG to 209, a total that could have easily crossed 240 at one point.
“We gave away too many runs in the powerplay and dropped catches, but we did well in the last seven overs. When you stop a team short of 250, you feel confident,” Axar added.
DC’s chase looked dead at 65/5, but then came the turning point—Ashutosh Sharma’s explosive 66 off 31 balls*. The 26-year-old impact substitute stunned LSG and gave DC a miraculous win, finishing the game with a soaring six in the final over.
Axar also singled out debutant Vipraj Nigam, who played a fearless knock of 39 off 15 balls, injecting crucial momentum into the chase when Ashutosh was still settling.
“To bat in your debut match under this kind of pressure—credit goes to [Vipraj Nigam]. Hopefully, they’ll continue to grow and deliver,” Axar said, lauding the youngster.
With the win, DC not only kept their playoff hopes alive but also discovered two new match-winners, while their captain showed he’s ready to lead with guts, humor, and just a hint of chaos.