“Wanted to take the side over the line”: Ashutosh Sharma on Punjab Kings’ victory

With Punjab Kings (PBKS) scoring a thrilling victory over Gujarat Titans (GT) in the high-scoring match on Thursday, its batter Ashutosh Sharma spoke about his crucial partnership with Shashank Singh that took the team through and said he had a positive mindset when he came to the crease.

Punjab Kings scored 200 runs to clinch a memorable victory and became the team with highest number of 200 or above chases in IPL.

Ashutosh said that he was nervous in the beginning but also confident of chasing the challenging total.

“When I came out to bat, I was just thinking that I wanted to take the side over the line. I was nervous but I knew that I have done in the past…I was confident as the team had shown trust in me. They have belief in me,” the Madhya Pradesh-born player said.

The 25-year-old batter scored 31 runs from 17 balls at a strike rate of 182.35 and helped his side clinch a three-wicket win over Gujarat Titans. He slammed three fours and a six during his time at the crease.

“I was thinking positively when I came to bat. I was not thinking that so many wickets had fallen. I was just thinking of taking my team home,” Ashutosh said.

The youngster further spoke about his partnership with the 32-year-old Shahank and said they kept things calm.

“Me and Shashank were calm because we knew our strengths. We both played together in the practice matches and we were saying to each other that the target would be achieved. We both were confident that we could do it,” Ashutosh said. Shashank scored an unbeaten 61 runs.

He also praised PBKS skipper Shikhar Dhawan and said he encourages players.

“Shikhar Dhawan is the best human being I have met. He tells me very good things about the game. When I met him in the pre-season camp, he told me how to get mentally prepared for each game.

Yesterday also he talked to me before my batting. He said that there is no large difference in approach to Ranji Trophy and IPL, just believe in yourself, and you can do it,” Ashutosh said.

The cricketer said that the PBKS franchise is not thinking of playoffs at the moment.
“We are not thinking about the playoffs right now. We are taking one game at a time and trying to win that game,” the Madhya Pradesh cricketer added.

PBKS’s next fixture is against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, Chandigarh on Tuesday.

“We have no game plans right now for the SRH fixture. We will make game plans after reaching Chandigarh after seeing the situation and pitch conditions,” he added.