LSG vs DC, 4th Match at Visakhapatnam, IPL, Mar 24 2025 - Ball by Ball Commentary

11.50pm Right then, we officially had our first real thriller of IPL 2025 and what a thriller it was! Absolutely up-and-down game across innings. We saw Pooran and Marsh dominate, we then saw Kuldeep and Starc bring DC back in the game. Then it was LSG on the up again, thanks to Shardul and co. Whatever resistance DC were putting up, kept getting broken. But Ashutosh Sharma and Vipraj Nigam, new boys for Delhi Capitals, stood up and stood up tall. They still needed 42 off 23 when Nigam fell, but DC also lost Starc and Kuldeep and it was Mohit Sharma facing the last over. Shahbaz Ahmed bowled a beauty to him first up, which nicked his pad which led to Pant not being able to collect with a clear stumping chance had he done so. And Ashutosh Sharma finished the game in style. You can read a more detailed summary in our report. That's all from me and Sudarshanan. On behalf of everyone at ESPNcricinfo, this is Abhimanyu signing off. Goodnight!

11.40pm Time for the presentation ceremony.

Ashutosh Sharma: "I learned from the last year, because there wee a few games where I couldn't finish the game, so I have been focusing on finishing games, even in domestic cricket. I have a lot of belief in myself that if I play till the last over and the last ball, anything can happen. Because you just have to stay calm, and believe, and think about what shots you can play that you have practiced, so that's what I did today. [On batting with the tail after Vipraj's dismissal] Firstly I want to say Vipraj played very well. It was a good innings. I told him that if he is being able to connect, he should keep hitting. And I just stayed calm and didn't take too much pressure on myself. I just want to dedicate this man-of-the-match award to my mentor Shikhar paaji"

Axar Patel: "[On a thrilling win] Make it a habit that this is how it's going to be under my captaincy. My decision making is also a bit up and down like this, [so anything can happen]. Sometimes there will be anger also [from fans]. Right now we won, so no one will say anything. In the IPL, we have seen a lot. Losing four wickets in the powerplay and winning the game, not seen it happen a lot but now cricket is changing so you just stay at the crease and apply yourself. As a bowler I feel it's all a game of the mind. If you think that you're going to get hit, but you can also go for wickets. So it works both ways. [On the chase] I think the way they played the first six overs, I felt we gave away too many runs. We dropped a catch too. But we stopped them well in the last seven overs. So we had the momentum. When you see 250 could have been made but you stop them around 200, you feel confident. The way the players have been working hard and we all know the potential we have. To bat in the first match in a pressure situation like this, credit goes to [Vipraj Nigam] and hopefully they will continue to do well."

11.30pm We have the presentation ceremony coming up soon.

Faf du Plessis: "Amazing game of cricket. Shows you, obviously, a lot of cricketers will complain about the new rule, but that's what the rule is there in the game. When you think the game is buried, someone comes on and plays like that... If you look at the wicket, the way the ball was gripping and we lost five wickets, I thought it was going to be impossible. But it shows what happens when you have an extra batter. It was amazing to watch just how these guys are so powerful and just hitting boundaries effortlessly. It actually reminded me a bit of the 438 game when Makhaya Ntini had to get a single in the last over. That's probably the most important single in Mohit Sharma's life. What a story, Ashutosh winning it with a six. Yeah there's a lot of life left in the dog. New challenge for me, I always see it as a new chapter to look forward to. Moving from Chennai to RCB was a good chapter. Now hopefully it'll be a good last chapter"

Rishabh Pant: "I think the runs were enough on the board. The batters batted really well. We may have lost the momentum in the middle but I think that was a pretty good score on this wicket. Definitely as a team we are looking to take positives from every match and learn from it. I think the more we get basics right the better we will get. We need to do the basics right more often. I think they had two good partnerships between Stubbsy, Ashutosh and... one more guy [Nigam] I think as the more the ball got older there was help for the bowlers but we could have done the basics more. We felt the pressure. It's early in the tournament and we are settling in. Luck plays a big part, if it hadn't hit his pad, it would have been a big chance for stumping [in the last over]"

Padmaraj: "FAF looks in good shape for a movie career :)"

11.20pm My oh my, what a comeback from Delhi Capitals, in both innings! At 65 for 5, they were tottering. When they lost Tristan Stubbs at 113, they looked like they had no chance. But Vipraj Nigam smashed 39 off 15 in his IPL debut and Ashutosh Sharma took off to play a perfect finisher's knock. Kevin Pietersen bigged them both up while speaking to the broadcaster mid-innings, and boy have they delivered for Delhi Capitals! Lucknow Super Giants know they let the game slip away on multiple occasions today. For Pant, it's a horror return against his old team, with 0 off 6, a dropped chance (albeit a difficult one) and a missed stumping that could have won the game in the final over.

Padmaraj: "LSG started very well in their innings, but DC ended even better. Innings of two halves for each team."

Ashutosh on strike. One boundary needed for DC

DC couldn't get the single, which is the only positive from that delivery for LSG

Just six needed now, but it's No. 11 Mohit Sharma on strike! Shahbaz Ahmed will bowl it. Oh my, it's all happening here!

Two overs, 22 runs, two wickets. That's the equation. Bishnoi, LSG's most trusted bowler right now, has been expensive today. But now Prince Yadav can have a go at Kuldeep. Can Kuldeep find a single

Ashutosh takes off his helmet. Bishnoi goes around the wicket

Kuldeep Yadav the new batter at No. 10

Bishnoi's last over

Rathis stops in his run up and threatens to run Ashutosh out at the non-striker's end

Mitchell Starc comes in to bat now. We know he can bat!

Digvesh Rathi now

Siddharth: "The first true thriller of this year's IPL! "

Jai: "CRR and NRR same at this point... game on.."

Timeout.