As Ashutosh Sharma's post-match interview with former Indian spinner Murali Kartik was concluding, he raised his hands and declared, "I would like to dedicate this Player of the Match award to my mentor, Shikhar paaji. He is not present... Thank you." Ashutosh was unable to finish his thought, but it was unnecessary; Shikhar Dhawan and the viewers of the broadcast understood his sentiment perfectly.

While Delhi Capitals mentor Kevin Pietersen received immediate recognition—Ashutosh even performed a switch hit gesture to express his gratitude towards Pietersen—for his outstanding performance against the Lucknow Super Giants, the right-handed batsman made sure to acknowledge Dhawan's significant role in his development.

In the manner of a dedicated mentor, Dhawan has consistently observed the 26-year-old's progress. He has been a guiding figure for Ashutosh for quite some time, having strongly supported his batting skills during their shared tenure at the Punjab Kings.

On Monday, upon entering the dressing room, Dhawan promptly video-called Ashutosh to extend his congratulations. DC shared footage of their call, during which Ashutosh repeatedly expressed his gratitude. When asked about Dhawan's words, he replied, "Paaji was very happy."

Anyone cricket fan would be after watching Ashutosh bat against LSG on Monday. His blistering 66* off 31 balls snatched a dramatic one-wicket victory over LSG in Visakhapatnam for Delhi Capitals.

How Ashutosh Sharma made Shikhar Dhawan proud

Ashutosh struck a left-arm spinner, Shahbaz Ahmed, for a straight six, propelling Delhi to a total of 211-9 with three balls remaining, resulting in Rishabh Pant's defeat in his inaugural match as LSG captain, despite being the IPL's most expensive player.

LSG managed the match effectively until Ashutosh unleashed a powerful performance alongside Vipraj Nigam, whose rapid 39 runs off 15 balls reignited Delhi's hopes.

Delhi faced early setbacks during the powerplay, losing four wickets. Shardul Thakur claimed the wickets of Jake Fraser-McGurk (1) and Abishek Porel (0) in his opening over.

When impact substitute Manimaran Siddharth bowled Tristan Stubbs for 34 in the 13th over, Delhi appeared to be in dire straits at 113-6.

However, Ashutosh and Nigam aggressively attacked the bowlers until Nigam was dismissed in the 17th over, leaving Delhi needing 42 runs from 23 balls.

Mitchell Marsh became the eighth wicket to fall when he misjudged a googly from Ravi Bishnoi, resulting in a catch to Pant, while Kuldeep Yadav was run out in the penultimate over while attempting to give the strike to Sharma.

With six runs required in the final over, Mohit Sharma narrowly avoided a stumping as the ball ricocheted off his bat before he managed to take a single off Ahmed. Ashutosh then concluded the match emphatically by hitting his fifth six, leaving Lucknow in shock.

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