Putting the ‘Indian’ in the Indian Premier League in an all-time classic in Visakhapatnam last night were two cricketers who could, by the time the 2025 season ends, become household names for the IPL audience.
Despite showing immense finishing skills, Ashutosh Sharma was released by Punjab Kings before the mega auction and found a new home with DC, whereas his partner in a stunning counter-punching alliance of 55 from 21 deliveries was Vipraj Nigam, who before yesterday’s match had played all of two official T20 games.
These two combined to turn the tables on LSG, with Nigam smashing 39 off 15 deliveries in a partnership of 55 and Ashutosh finishing the chase with 66 not out from 31, complete with five sixes.
So incredible was Ashutosh’s assault that his new DC team-mate Faf du Plessis was moved to term it as ‘unbelievable’. But the real game-changer was Nigam, who earlier in the piece had conceded 35 runs from two overs, only to redeem himself with an unforgettable cameo of 39 off 14 deliveries.
Where Ashutosh struggled to put bat on ball and was at one stage 20 off 20, the debutant Nigam slugged and sliced five fours and two sixes to keep Delhi in the hunt for 210. That innings underlined the potential in Indian cricket, and how punting on the right player can reap dividends.
At 20, Nigam found himself with an IPL contract after some clutch performances in the UPT20 League which in turn won him a spot in Uttar Pradesh’s T20 squad. In two Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches this season, he scored 27* off eight balls in a must-win game. And on IPL debut, he took the wicket of Aiden Markram, had Nicholas Pooran put down off his bowling on 17, and then left a mark in a terrific chase. Ashutosh will walk away with the headlines, but it was Nigam who provided the spark for Delhi.
Punjab Kings must be wondering, however, whether they have erred in letting the 26-year-old go. Ashutosh had wowed fans of PBKS with his clutch lower-order hitting, but found himself in the mega auction in 2024. Purchased by DC, he repaid the faith immediately with an innings of high class. He struggled initially but set himself up and forced Rishabh Pant to bowl pace at him, which was where the game turned. Sixteen runs off Ravi Bishnoi prompted Pant to bring back Prince Yadav, and Ashutosh hit the seamer for ten runs off the last two balls of the 19th over.
Pant then erred by missing a stumping chance off DC’s last man, Mohit Sharma, and back on strike, Ashutosh swung the left-arm spin of Shahbaz Ahmed over the sightscreen to finish the match.
The most expensive player in IPL history, Pant, marked his debut for the only franchise outside of Delhi thar he’s ever played for with a six-ball duck from No 4, struggled to defend 209 with an all-Indian pace attack and then fluffed a stumping that would have sealed a thriller in his team’s favour.
Two teams with clear deficiencies provided us with the match of IPL 2025. They will struggle to make the playoffs – looking at DC’s batting, I think Ashutosh will need to play several such gems – but along the way, Delhi and Lucknow could also give us a few more thrillers.
