Faf du Plessis says Ashutosh Sharma showed why the Indian Premier League has the Impact Player rule after helping the Delhi Capitals pull off a thrilling one-wicket win.

The Lucknow Super Giants looked in control as they finished their innings on 208-9, with their dominance extending further as they reduced Delhi to 7-3 and 65-5.

That is when the debutant, Ashutosh, entered the fray to lead the lower order, and scored an unbeaten 66 runs, including 47 from his final 12 balls, clinching the victory with a maximum.

He recorded a strike rate of 212.90 while slamming five fours and five sixes en route to his best-ever IPL score.

And Du Plessis says that you cannot argue with the rule when it brings that much excitement.

"A lot of the cricketers, if you ask them, they would complain about the [Impact Player] rule in the IPL," Du Plessis said.

"But this is obviously why that rule is there - for games when you think that you're completely dead and buried, someone comes in and plays like that.

𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐄 𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐓 𝐓𝐎𝐃𝐀𝐘? pic.twitter.com/Ouwuindtta

— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) March 24, 2025

"I'm definitely going to drink some more masala tea to make sure I can hit the ball like the boys do at the end.

"To be honest, when I looked at the wicket and saw how much the ball was gripping and losing five wickets, I thought it was going to be an almost impossible task.

"But it's even great for the old brain of mine just to make sure that you can never be out of a game completely. The extra batter really makes a big difference."

With Delhi needing 97 off 45 balls, Ashutosh and Vipraj Nigam put together a 55-run stand, off just 22 balls, to put them within touching distance of the win.

Nigam fell for 39 with the Capitals still needing 42 off 24, but Ashutosh had confidence they would get over the line.

"I learned from the last year, because there were a few games where I couldn't finish the game, so I have been focusing on finishing games, even in domestic cricket," he said.

A win for the ages pic.twitter.com/DmeAgPoGES

— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) March 24, 2025

"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 practised, so that's what I did today.

"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."