Who is Ashutosh Sharma? Punjab Kings batter who smashed 31 off 17 on debut

Ashutosh Sharma made a significant impact for Punjab Kings during their IPL 2024 match against Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Coming in to bat when PBKS was chasing a challenging target of 200 runs, Sharma's quickfire 31 off 17 balls in the crucial stages of the game proved instrumental in securing a thrilling victory for his team.

Entering the fray in the 16th over, the young talent formed a vital 43-run partnership off just 22 balls, steering Punjab Kings closer to the target. With three boundaries and a maximum, Ashutosh Sharma's aggressive batting set the stage for his teammates to finish the game in style.

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Who is Ashutosh Sharma?

This isn't the first time Ashutosh Sharma has made headlines with his explosive batting. The Ratlam-native, who was raised in Indore, previously broke Yuvraj Singh's record for the fastest fifty by an Indian in T20 cricket. Sharma achieved this feat by smashing a fifty off just 11 balls against Arunachal Pradesh during a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Group C match in October 2023. This impressive performance eclipsed Yuvraj's 16-year-old record of scoring a fifty off 12 balls, which was set against England in the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007.

Ashutosh Sharma has played 4 First-Class matches, 7 List A games and 15 T20 matches in his career so far. The 25-year-old was picked by Punjab Kings for INR 20 lakh ahead of IPL 2024 auction. He made his debut as an Impact Sub in the match between Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans.  

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Shashank powered his way to an unbeaten 61 from just 29 balls, while Ashutosh contributed a quickfire 31 off 17 deliveries. Despite an early setback of losing skipper Shikhar Dhawan for just one run, PBKS managed to chase down the 200-run target with one ball remaining.