{"id":61381,"date":"2025-05-28T10:45:23","date_gmt":"2025-05-28T10:45:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/?p=61381"},"modified":"2025-05-28T10:45:23","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T10:45:23","slug":"jitesh-sharmas-heroics-outshine-pants-masterclass-as-rcb-clinch-thrilling-win-to-enter-qualifier-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/28\/jitesh-sharmas-heroics-outshine-pants-masterclass-as-rcb-clinch-thrilling-win-to-enter-qualifier-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Jitesh Sharma’s Heroics Outshine Pant’s Masterclass as RCB Clinch Thrilling Win to Enter Qualifier 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stand-in skipper Jitesh Sharma<\/strong> played a blinder, smashing an unbeaten 85 off 42 balls<\/strong>, as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)<\/strong> pulled off a stunning six-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)<\/strong> to seal a berth in IPL 2025 Qualifier 1<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

RCB will now face Punjab Kings<\/strong> in the Qualifier 1 clash at Mullanpur on Thursday<\/strong>, having finished second in the league standings with 19 points<\/strong>, level with PBKS but trailing slightly on net run rate<\/strong> (+0.30 to PBKS\u2019 +0.37).<\/p>\n

\n

RCB\u2019s Remarkable Chase of 228<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Chasing a daunting 228-run target<\/strong>, RCB started in explosive fashion with Virat Kohli (54 off 30)<\/strong> and Phil Salt (30 off 19)<\/strong> adding 61 runs in just 5.4 overs. Kohli, batting fluently, raced to his fifty in 27 balls before falling to Avesh Khan, trying to clear long-off.<\/p>\n

After a mini-collapse that saw Rajat Patidar<\/strong> and Liam Livingstone<\/strong> fall in quick succession, RCB found themselves in a tricky spot at 123\/4 in 11.4 overs<\/strong>, still 103 runs adrift with the required run rate approaching 13.<\/p>\n

But then came the match-defining partnership. Jitesh Sharma<\/strong>, leading the side in Patidar\u2019s absence, and Mayank Agarwal (41 off 28)<\/em>* stitched together an unbroken 107-run stand<\/strong>, powering RCB home with 8 balls to spare<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Jitesh survived two moments of fortune \u2014 first on 49 due to a no-ball and then on 57 when Rishabh Pant withdrew a run-out appeal. Taking full advantage, he unleashed a flurry of strokes, dominating the \u2018V\u2019 and sweeping effectively to the fine leg region.<\/p>\n

Mayank provided calm support at the other end, threading gaps with precision using his trademark cuts and drives.<\/p>\n

Fittingly, Jitesh sealed the win with three consecutive sixes off Will O\u2019Rourke in the 18th over, underlining his authority on the match.<\/p>\n

\n

Pant\u2019s Special Century in Vain<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Earlier, Rishabh Pant<\/strong> produced a breathtaking innings \u2014 an unbeaten 118 off 61 balls<\/strong> (11\u00d74, 8\u00d76) \u2014 to take LSG to 227\/3<\/strong>. It was Pant\u2019s first century of the season and only the second of his IPL career, coming after seven long years.<\/p>\n

Pant\u2019s knock was filled with clean hitting and improved shot selection, a departure from his earlier struggles this season where he had a strike rate of just 107. He turned the tide with a blitz in the fourth over, taking 18 runs off Yash Dayal with a sequence of 6, 4, 4.<\/p>\n

Batting alongside Mitchell Marsh (67 off 37)<\/strong>, Pant shared a mammoth 152-run stand<\/strong> for the second wicket. Marsh, too, brought out his power game after a slow start, smashing his way past 600 runs for the season \u2014 his best-ever IPL campaign.<\/p>\n

Marsh eventually edged Bhuvneshwar Kumar to the keeper, but Pant carried on, bringing up his hundred in 54 balls with a gorgeous lofted four over cover. He celebrated with a beaming smile and an acrobatic somersault.<\/p>\n

He added another 49 runs with Nicholas Pooran<\/strong> for the third wicket, ensuring LSG posted a formidable total \u2014 though it ultimately proved insufficient.<\/p>\n

\n

Brief Scores:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Lucknow Super Giants:<\/strong> 227\/3 in 20 overs
(Rishabh Pant 118<\/em> not out, Mitchell Marsh 67<\/em>)<\/p>\n

Royal Challengers Bengaluru:<\/strong> 230\/4 in 18.4 overs
(Virat Kohli 54, Jitesh Sharma 85<\/em> not out, Mayank Agarwal 41<\/em> not out)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Stand-in skipper Jitesh Sharma played a blinder, smashing an unbeaten 85 off 42 balls, as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) pulled off a stunning six-wicket win over…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":61382,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61381","post","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61381"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61381\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61383,"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61381\/revisions\/61383"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/earlypostdaily.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}