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Credit: X

Mumbai Indians pulled off a thrilling nine-run victory over the Punjab Kings in the IPL 2024 but one of the shining stars in this fixture was a young Indian capped batter named Ashutosh Sharma. The 25-year-old, who represents Railways in the Indian domestic circuit, played a blistering 28-ball 61 with two fours and seven sixes at an impressive strike rate of 217.86 which nearly won Punjab the game.

This wasn't first time Ashutosh has batted in this destructive fashion as he has already scored 156 runs in 4 matches at a strike rate of 205.26.  But it hasn't been all smooth sailing for Ashutosh. The 25-year-old went through a tough phase in his life from 2020 to 2022 as he was dropped from the Madhya Pradesh squad after falling out with head coach Chandrakant Pandit. 

Sharma then got a job offer from Railways which was a turning point in his career. He played the 2023 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Railways and  stole the limelight with a 12-ball 53 in the Railways’ win by 127 runs  against Arunachal Pradesh . Ashutosh reached his half-century in just 11 balls and recorded the fastest half-century by an Indian player in the shortest format of the game.

Here’s all you need to know about Ashutosh Sharma:

Age: 25 years

Date of Birth: 15 September 1998

Hails from: Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh

Role: Batter

Batting style: Right-handed