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'I was normal and believed that I could do it because I had won games for my home team. Back home I was training with Amay Khurasiya sir. He told me when you get a chance you will become a hero.'
After playing a major role in the victory against Gujarat Titans (GT) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, Punjab Kings (PBKS) right-hand batter Ashutosh Sharma thanked the franchise for believing in him.
Shashank Singh and Ashutosh's brutal power-hitting stunned GT and helped PBKS register the highest successful chase in the ongoing IPL 2024 as they defeated last year's finalists by 3 wickets here at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Thursday.
The 25-year-old batter scored 31 runs from 17 balls at a strike rate of 182.35 and helped his side clinch a 3-wicket win over Gujarat. The Madhya Pradesh-born cricketer slammed 3 fours and a six during his time on the crease.
"I would like to thank the PBKS team for believing in me so much. Feels so good to perform and more importantly the team won, so I am happy about it. Shikhar (Dhawan) paaji believed in me so much. I was normal and kept believing that I could do it," Ashutosh said in the post-match presentation.
Ashutosh further stated that he had belief in himself as he had won games for his home team from the pressure situations.
"To Sanjay (Bangar) sir I will thank him so much and he believed in me. He told me a lot of good things. I was normal and believed that I could do it because I had won games for my home team. Back home I was training with Amay Khurasiya sir. He told me when you get a chance you will become a hero," the right-hand batter added.
While speaking at the post-match press conference, Ashutosh said that the management's confidence in him helped him play a blitzkrieg knock.
"Confidence was there because the coaches and Punjab Kings management believed in me a lot. They were backing me a lot. They told me 'You're such a player who is capable of finishing games for us'. That confidence, I carried. I went out to the middle and applied it. I feel happy to have repaid the faith shown by the coaches," Ashutosh said.
He also showered praise on Shashank Singh.
"It was a very good innings from Shashank Singh. I had confidence in him that he would be able to pull it off. We both are pinch-hitters. We had belief that we would win the match. We both were very calm, we didn't panic at all," he added.
Both Ashutosh and Shashank put on a a 43-run partnership in the end while chasing the 200-run partnership given by GT, to help the visitors win the game by 3 wickets.