Ashutosh wins a thriller for DC against LSG
Visakhapatnam, Mar 24 (PTI): Impact sub Ashutosh Sharma played the most defining knock of his IPL career to guide Delhi Capitals to a thrilling one wicket victory over Lucknow Super Giants here on Monday.
Ashutosh smashed 66 not out off 31 balls and finished it with a huge six off Shahbaz Ahmed as DC chased down a target of 210 with three balls to spare. The right-hander hit five fours and five sixes in all.
DC were 7 for 3 at one stage and then 113 for 6 but Ashutosh and unheralded Vipraj Nigam (39 off 15 balls) added 55 runs in quick time before the Railways man finished it off in style despite wickets falling at the other end.
LSG were 20 short during batting and paid the price for not having any of their frontline pacers on the park due to injury. It didn't help that Ravi Bishnoi was hit for 53 runs.
Earlier, Delhi Capitals bowlers did well at the back-end to restrict Lucknow Super Giants to 209 for 8 on a batting paradise, despite attractive fifties from Mitchell Marsh (72) and Nicholas Pooran (75).
Kuldeep Yadav was easily the most impactful bowler with figures of 2 for 20 while Mitchell Starc used his variations to end with best figures 3 for 42 in four overs.
Brief Scores:
Lucknow Super Giants: 209 for 8 in 20 overs (Nicholas Pooran 75, Mitchell Marsh 72; Kuldeep Yadav 2/20, Mitchell Starc 3/42).
Delhi Capitals: 211 for 9 in 19.3 overs (Ashutosh Sharma 66 not out; Shardul Thakur 2/19).
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Experience comes when you play bigger teams in bilateral series: Rashid Khan
Chennai (PTI): Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan called for more bilateral series against stronger cricketing nations after his team signed off from the T20 World Cup on a high, defeating Canada in their final group match here on Thursday.
Afghanistan played some exhilarating cricket, going down to South Africa in a gripping second Super Over after the scores were tied, a humdinger that provided one of the early thrills of the World Cup.
However, the spin-bowling stalwart said Afghanistan could make significant strides if they get regular opportunities to compete against stronger cricketing nations.
"Couple of areas to improve, with the batting, the middle order got a bit stuck against the big teams, and then with the bowling the death overs. That comes when you play the bigger teams in bilateral series," said Rashid after his team defeat Canada by 82 runs, with him returning excellent figures of 2 for 19.
The stalwart said the side had arrived well prepared for the tournament and produced some breathtaking cricket, but admitted the narrow defeat to South Africa proved costly and remained a painful setback.
"We were well-prepared (for the tournament), we played some unbelievable cricket. The game against South Africa, that really hurt everyone. We had to win one of those (first two) games and see how the tournament unfolded. We'll take some positive things from this World Cup and look forward," he said.
With head coach Jonathan Trott set to part ways with the team, Rashid described the departure as an "emotional" moment for the side.
"I think we had some wonderful times with him. Where we are now, he played a main role. It's emotional to see him leave us, but that's how life is. We wish him all the best and somewhere down the line we see him again."
Ibrahim Zadran, who was named Player of the Match for his unbeaten 95 off 56 balls, said it was satisfying to finally register a substantial score after two below-par outings.
"I enjoyed it, didn't play better cricket in first two innings, which I expect. Wanted to back my skills, really enjoyed it. Pressure was there, it's there all the time. I want to put myself in pressure situations and enjoy it," said Zadran.
"Wanted to play positive cricket, rotate strike and punish bad ball, create partnerships and this is what I have done."
