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Chennai Super Kings (CSK) youngster Kartik Sharma is proving why the five-time champions have spent a massive ₹14.2 crore on him at the IPL 2026 mini auction last year. Kartik Sharma played another impressive knock in the ongoing IPL 2026 and caught everyone’s attention with the maturity he showed under pressure against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on May 15.
CSK was in big trouble during the IPL 2026 match after losing early wickets against Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Friday.
CSK youngster Kartik Sharma hits a fearless fifty against LSG in IPL 2026 clash
The Chennai Super Kings were struggling at 36/2 in the sixth over when Kartik Sharma came to bat against LSG. Soon after, Urvil Patel was also dismissed for just 6 runs by Akash Singh, putting the entire batting lineup under massive pressure in Lucknow.
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But Kartik did not allow the pressure to bog him down; instead, he played with patience. At one stage, Kartik was batting slowly on 29 runs from 26 balls. But once he settled, the CSK star switched gears and started attacking the LSG bowlers fearlessly.
The young batter hammered his next 42 runs in only 16 balls. Karthik played a brilliant knock of 71 runs off 42 deliveries, laced with six sixes and five boundaries as CSK posted 187/5 on the board in 20 overs against LSG. Later, the hosts chased down the target inside 17 overs with 7 wickets in hand.
Ambati Rayudu impressed by Kartik Sharma's ability to anchor and attack
Meanwhile, the former Indian batter Ambati Rayudu was really impressed with the way the 20-year-old wicketkeeper-batter handled the situation and changed his game according to the team’s needs, showing that he can both control an innings and attack when needed.
Rayudu was highly impressed with Kartik’s preparation, especially against short-pitched bowling and spin. The former CSK batter feels the youngster can be a complete middle-order batter suited for Indian conditions in the future.
Ambati Rayudu said on ESPNcricinfo TimeOut: “I think it's been exceptional. I think he was prepared for a lot of short bowling against a team that has good fast bowlers, which shows his preparation has been spot-on. His game against spin, too, has been quite exceptional in reading length. I just think he's turning into a complete middle-order batter; especially for conditions at home in India, he is looking very, very good.”
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Ambati Rayudu defends Kartik Sharma over strike rate criticism
He has so far managed 244 runs at an average of 34.85 and a strike rate of 134.06 in nine games for the five-time IPL champion. Many have raised questions over his strike rate, which is quite low compared to other young guns in the ongoing IPL 2026, and what should be in this modern era.
But the former MI star doesn’t think it is an issue because this is Kartik’s debut IPL season, while praising his calm mindset and ability to learn quickly under pressure.
Rayudu further said in praise of the CSK star: “He can hit sixes against both fast bowlers and spinners. His batsmanship will improve over time with confidence and experience. He'll know his single options or double options on a certain pitch. Once he starts getting into those nitty-gritties, I feel the strike rate also will improve.”
He signed off by saying, “I just think his progress has been pretty rapid, and he's looking good. He is a fast learner. He's learning on the job, poor guy—he has batted No. 6 and No. 7 for the first part of the IPL. It's not an easy number. But since he has come at No. 4 or No. 5, he has been batting exceptionally well.”
