[Pictures] Ashutosh Sharma's wicket draws contrasting reactions from Preity Zinta and Gerald Coetzee in PBKS vs MI IPL 2024 thriller

Punjab Kings (PBKS) batting sensation Ashutosh Sharma's timely dismissal by Gerald Coetzee helped Mumbai Indians (MI) bounce back in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 match. The wicket drew contrasting reactions from PBKS owner Preity Zinta (sad) and Coetzee (thrilled), the bowler.

Ashutosh Singh smashed 61 runs off 28 balls in an innings laced with seven sixes and two boundaries at Mullanpur on Thursday, April 18. The 25-year-old also shared a 50-plus partnership with Harpreet Brar for the eighth wicket. The right-handed batter single-handedly kept Punjab alive in the 193-run chase but fell prey to Coetzee by finding Mohammad Nabi at deep mid-wicket.

Take a look at Preity Zinta and Gerald Coetzee's reactions to Ashutosh Sharma's wicket below:

Ashutosh, who hails from Madhya Pradesh, has been quite consistent in IPL 2024. He has had scores of 31 (16), 33*(15), and 31 (17) against Rajasthan Royals (RR), Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), and Gujarat Titans (GT), respectively. He will now look to continue his sublime form in the second half of IPL.

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"Incredible knock" - PBKS captain Sam Curran lauds Ashutosh Sharma after PBKS vs MI IPL 2024 heroics

Punjab Kings stand-in captain Sam Curran lauded Ashutosh Sharma and Jitesh Sharma for the fightback but was gutted to lose out on another close game. Curran said in the post-match show:

"Another incredible knock from the young guy (on Ashutosh), but another close loss. It's very tough, you want to lose close games rather then getting absolutely thumped, but we've lost a lot of wickets at the start."

He continued:

"The way the younger guys have taken the team so close is heartening (on Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma). They have incredible confidence, you see a guy like Ashutosh having the confidence to play the sweeps and the big hits against pacers, it's so great to watch them in action."

Curran has also backed his team to turn their fortunes around when they next host GT in Mullanpur on April 21. He concluded:

"It's disheartening to lose close games, but there are a lot of positives in this team. We still have the belief in us, we believe we can turn this around, the sun will come up tomorrow and we will hopefully get on a winning run."

With the loss, PBKS dropped to ninth in the points table with just two wins in seven games. They have now lost a hat-trick of games against SRH, RR and MI.

Click here to check out the full PBKS vs MI IPL 2024 scorecard.