Ashutosh Sharma was unbelievable, our nerves were tested: MI skipper Hardik

Punjab Kings' Ashutosh Sharma impresses with bat, praised by Hardik Pandya and Sam Curran, despite team's struggles in IPL.

Punjab Kings' cricketer Ashutosh Sharma's exploits with the willow drew enormous praise from Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya as well as his team's stand-in captain Sam Curran, with the former terming it an "unbelievable" display.

Ashutosh and Shashank Singh have emerged as the unlikely heroes for Punjab Kings this IPL season but the failure of the top-order has seen the team slump to ninth spot in the IPL table despite the some breathtaking performances from the duo.

On Thursday, Ashutosh virtually took the game away from Mumbai Indians with his 28-ball 61 before PBKS lost by nine runs chasing 193.

Ashutosh also executed a stunning sweep shot against pacer Jasprit Bumrah, something which has not been done quite often against India's pace spearhead.

"Unbelievable, playing the way he (Ashutosh) did and hitting the ball off the middle. (It is) great for his future. We did speak in the timeout about it, not about how we look, we will keep fighting and make sure (that) we don't bowl the soft balls. Batsmen played good shots but we were soft in certain overs," Mr.Pandya said at the post-match presentation ceremony.

The MI skipper heaved a huge sigh of relief with a close win, stating that every player's nerves got tested in the game.

"(It was a) very good game. Everyone's nerves got tested. We spoke that the characters will be checked in this game. But (it is) natural (that) you (would) think you are ahead but IPL has a tendency to show that oppositions can come back and how," Pandya added.