Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s stand-in captain Jitesh Sharma orchestrated a record-breaking chase against Lucknow Super Giants in the final group stage match of IPL season 18, scoring an unbeaten 85 off 33 balls at a strike rate of 257.58 to successfully pursue a target of 228 runs.RCB found themselves in trouble at 123/4 after losing Virat Kohli in the 12th over when Jitesh joined Mayank Agarwal at the crease. The duo formed an unbeaten 107-run partnership that guided their team to record victory.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!“I will not be able to express my thoughts! I can’t believe I played that knock. When Virat bhai was out, I was just thinking of taking it deep. As my mentor and guru Dinesh [Karthik] anna says, just take it deep,” Jitesh said at the post-match presentation.
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The 17th over proved crucial for Jitesh’s innings. He survived two close calls – first when his shot was caught by Badoni off a no-ball as Digvesh had crossed the return crease, and then when he was found short of the crease at the non-striker’s end but Lucknow captain Rishabh Pant withdrew the appeal.Between these incidents, Jitesh reached his maiden IPL fifty by hitting the ball into the stands.“I was getting cramps because all the load was on me! I have Virat bhai, Krunal bhai and Bhuvi bhai with me. I feel excited that I’m playing with them. We want to enjoy the moment. But we’ll try to recover well. We’ll look to carry the momentum into the next match,” Jitesh added.The victory maintained RCB’s perfect away record this season, making them the first team in IPL history to win all seven of their away fixtures. This success has secured them a top-two finish for the first time since 2016.RCB will now face Punjab Kings in Qualifier 1 on Thursday, with Josh Hazlewood potentially returning to the team after recovering from a shoulder injury.
“Credit goes to Rajat. I was responsible for maintaining his record. Hazlewood will perhaps play in the knockout. We have a strong belief system. We have match winners. Look at our playing XI, and we have match winners,” Jitesh concluded.
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