In a pulsating IPL 2025 clash that swung like a pendulum, Ashutosh Sharma produced a sensational, match-winning knock of 66 not out off 31 balls to guide the Delhi Capitals to a nail-biting one-wicket victory over the Lucknow Super Giants, chasing down 210 with just three balls to spare.

The triumph, however, came despite an electrifying innings from Nicholas Pooran, whose jaw-dropping 75 off just 30 balls—including 28 runs off a single over—lit up the night and looked destined to be the defining act of the match.

Batting first at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Stadium, Lucknow lost Aiden Markram early, but Mitchell Marsh and Pooran launched an all-out assault. Marsh’s 36-ball 72 included six sixes, while Pooran raised the roof with a boundary-laden blitz that featured six fours and seven sixes.

The pair took the score to 161 by the 14th over, with Pooran looking unstoppable—especially during an over from Tristan Stubbs that went for 28. But Delhi fought back in the death overs, with Mitchell Starc claiming 3 wickets—including Pooran and the dangerous Shahbaz Ahmed—and Kuldeep Yadav chipping in with two key strikes to restrict LSG to 209-8 when a score well above 220 had looked likely.

Delhi’s chase began disastrously. Within just 1.4 overs, they were reeling at 7-3, with Jake Fraser-McGurk, Abishek Porel, and Sameer Rizvi all dismissed cheaply. Faf du Plessis counter-attacked briefly with 29, and captain Axar Patel struck a quickfire 22, but wickets continued to fall.

When Tristan Stubbs (34 off 22) and du Plessis both fell, Delhi was still a long way off at 113-6 in the 13th over. The required run rate was climbing, the pressure mounting—and that’s when Ashutosh Sharma took over.

Brought in as an Impact Player, the right-hander stunned LSG with a fearless display of power-hitting, combining clean timing with controlled aggression. He was brilliantly supported by Vipraj Nigam, who cracked a 15-ball 39 in a crucial 55-run partnership for the seventh wicket.

Just when Delhi seemed in control, Nigam fell, followed quickly by Starc and Kuldeep Yadav, and the equation was reduced to 18 needed off nine balls with just one wicket remaining.

Cometh the moment, cometh Ashutosh. Unfazed by the mounting tension, he took charge with a six and a four off Shahbaz Ahmed, bringing Delhi within striking distance. Fittingly, it was Sharma who struck the winning runs in the final over, sealing one of the most dramatic finishes of the season and finishing unbeaten on 66 from 31 balls, laced with five fours and five sixes.

“It was about staying calm and backing myself. The message was clear—take it deep and finish it,” said a jubilant Ashutosh after being named Player of the Match. “Full credit to LSG, especially Pooran, but I’m glad I could get my team over the line.”

This match had everything—Pooran’s hurricane innings, a fiery powerplay collapse, a brave middle-order revival, and a finishing masterclass by an uncapped hero. For Delhi Capitals, it was a statement win. For Lucknow, it was a cruel heartbreak, after watching a 210-run effort slip away by the narrowest of margins.

Photos: AP