LSG vs RCB | Twitter reacts Jitesh Sharma special carries RCB into top-two with thrilling win in high-scoring duel

Venkateswaran N

ByVenkateswaran N,SportsCafe Editor

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Royal Challengers Bengaluru finished second in the Indian Premier League 2025 with a thrilling six-wicket win in their final league game against Lucknow Super Giants in Lucknow. Jitesh Sharma starred with the bat with a whirlwind half-century to overshadow Rishabh Pant’s century earlier in the day.

Jitesh Sharma during his knock against LSG at Ekana Stadium in Lucknow
‌After being put in at the Ekana Stadium, Lucknow Super Giants started on a positive note though they lost opener Matthew Breetzke in the third over. Skipper Rishabh Pant promoted himself to number three and looked in good nick straight away, unlike the other matches this season. He hit two fours and a six in Yash Dayal’s first over as LSG sat comfortably at 55/1 after the six-over mark. Pant and Mitchell Marsh continued to find the boundaries even after the powerplay as the pair kept the scoreboard moving fast. Pant scored a six and four off Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s second over before bringing up his second fifty this season along with the team’s 100, in the 10th over. Marsh also got into rhythm with a six and four off Romario Shepherd as the 100-run partnership also came up in 55 balls. The pair continued their aggression against spinner Suyash Sharma with 18 runs in his third over as Marsh also completed his fifty in the same over. Pant continued his merry run even after Marsh’s dismissal bringing up his century in just 54 balls and celebrated with a breathtaking somersault. LSG finished on a strong 227/3 on the back of Pant’s unbeaten 118 off 61 balls as 63 runs came in the last five overs. For RCB, Nuwan Thushara finished with figures of 1/26 in four overs.

Chasing 228 for a top-two finish RCB started on an aggressive note with Phil Salt scoring a boundary in the very first ball. That rubbed off on Virat Kohli too as the batter scored four consecutive boundaries in the next over bowled by Will O’Rourke with 22 runs coming off it. With the pair continuing the surge, RCB raced to 66 at the end of the powerplay though Salt was dismissed for a 19-ball 30 off Akash Singh in the sixth over. But the home team bounced back into the contest with O’Rourke’s double-wicket eighth over with the Kiwi pacer accounting for RCB skipper Rajat Patidar and Liam Livingstone off back-to-back deliveries. Kohli, though, was unperturbed at the other end as he brought up his eighth fifty in IPL 2025 in 27 balls. New batter Mayank Agarwal signalled his intent with three consecutive fours off pacer Akash as RCB went past the 100-run mark in the 10th over with 113 required off the last 10. The match opened up nicely with Kohli getting dismissed off Avesh Khan in the next over. But Jitesh Sharma came up with a wonderful knock to once again bring the visitors back in contention. With the required rate going above 12 an over, Jitesh hit a six and four off O’Rourke before smashing 17 runs in left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed’s next over. The RCB stand-in skipper had a slice of luck as he got out off a no-ball from Digvesh Rathi before smashing a six off the free-hit to bring up his first half-century in IPL. It was pure drama as Digvesh Rathi caught Jitesh short of his crease during his delivery run-up before Pant stepped in to withdraw the appeal. From then on, it was all RCB as Jitesh smashed 21 runs off O’Rourke’s final over to finish the proceedings with eight balls to spare.

Yup

Appreciate 

Nice

Unreal

New RCB

Too good

Crazy

Won

Finally

RCB nation

 

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