70TH IPL MATCH 2025, EKANA STADIUM, LUCKNOW : Jitesh Sharma’s Explosive Knock Catapulted RCB into Qualifier 1 .
Virat Kohli led Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) completed an incredible chase of 228 against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and finished in the top-two of the IPL 2025 points table. RCB’s star Jitesh Sharma cracked 85 off 33 balls to overshadow LSG skipper Rishabh Pant’s great 100. Pant had thrashed 118 from 61 to propel LSG to their record IPL score, 227. But, Jitesh’s herculean effort got RCB to a place in the play-offs in Qualifier 1. Virat Kohli, too, scored a half-century and nolle the three mega records in the match as well. Jitesh Sharma’s Explosive Knock Catapulted RCB into Qualifier 1 .
TOSS-
Royal Challengers Bangalore have won the toss and have opted to field.
PLAYING XI-
Royal Challengers Bangalore (Playing XI):
Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Mayank Agarawal, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w/c), Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Nuwan Thushara, Suyash Sharma
Lucknow Super Giants (Playing XI):
Mitchell Marsh, Matthew Breetzke, Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant(w/c), Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Himmat Singh, Shahbaz Ahmed, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Avesh Khan, William ORourke
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Impact Subs:
Rajat Patidar, Rasikh Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Tim Seifert, Swapnil Singh.
Lucknow Super Giants Impact Subs -
Akash Maharaj Singh, Prince Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Ardhin Kulkarni, Yuvraj Chaudhary
LUCKNOW SUPER GIANTS-
Nuwan Thushara, who replaced Lungi Ngidi, came in and bowled an eventful first over where he got the ball to move away, beat the bat, got hit for two fours and also cost RCB a review. In the second over, the new IPL entrant Matthew Breetzke hit Krunal Pandya for a six while 21 had come off the first two overs. Breetzke was then hit on the helmet by a short ball from Thushara before a yorker from the wrist-spinning all-rounder sent back the stumps. Skipper Pant walked out to bat at No.3 and seemed to bat with freedom as he launched a six and two fours off Dayal. Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled a quite over, while Thushara did the same despite Marsh edging a free-hit for a four, as the change of pace ensured that the batsmen, for a change, were tied down.
The pair broke free in the seventh over as Pant smashed a six and four off Bhuvneshwar and Marsh, who had gone off the boil after a fast start, hit a six off Romario Shepherd. Suyash Sharma had bowled an excellent first over but was then taken for a six and two fours by Pant, who raced to a 29-ball fifty, as LSG reached 100 by the halfway point of their innings. 9.24pm Dayal returned for a new spell, but he was expensive yet again in his second over, conceding 14 runs as Marsh and Pant found useful boundaries. A four and a six off Shepherd not only took up Marsh to 600 runs this season but also raised the 100-run partnership. The Australian then reached his seventh fifty-plus score of the season in 31 balls with a six off Suyash and the over ended with Pant dispatching a boundary and a one-handed six. The assault continued as Shepherd was hammered for two sixes by Pant, as the second wicket pair raised a solid platform as they entered the death overs.
The carnage kept coming as Marsh struck two sixes off Bhuvneshwar before RCB got some relief when the Australian nicked the pacer behind in the same over to break the big stand. Thushara, on the other hand, ended with tidy figures of 1 for 26, seven off his last over. But Pant made sure RCB did not get any breathing space as he raced to his 54-ball century with two successive fours off Bhuvneshwar and celebrated it with a cartwheel. Dayal was heaved for four and a six by Pant in the 19th over, and the wicketkeeper-batter then struck a six off Shepherd in the last over.
ROYAL CHALLENGERS BENGALURU-
The RCB openers too, began well, exchanging customary boundaries. There were eight off the first three overs and five off the second from William O’Rourke, four from Kohli’s bat. The half-century stand came up in the fourth over with Salt hitting two fours off Shahbaz Ahmed. Avesh Khan was driven for two fours in his opening over as Cabrera (28 in 38 balls) and Phil Salt (good hand, 7) added 34 for the first wicket before Akash Singh accounted for Salt, who holed out to deep cover in an effort to bury a slow and short delivery outside off. Kohli finished the over with a boundary, but it was now up to him and Rajat Patidar, the Impact sub sent in at No.3, to keep RCB in the hunt.
The first of Patidar’a four also came off an outside edge, the one after he flicked a O’Rourke delivery with effortless ease to register RCB’s first six of the innings. Kohli also hit O’Rourke for a four but the bowler had some consolation when Patidar hit straight to point to fall for 14. In the same over Liam Livingstone, who replaced Tim David, was trapped in front for a first-ball duck. Shahbaz kept it tight in the ninth over, giving only seven, despite Kohli smacking him for a four. The star batsman then raised his fifty, and his sixth 600-plus in a season in as many years, off a four from Akash. Mayank Agarwal clouted three boundaries in the over as RCB finished with 115 for 3 at the end of the 10th over.
But LSG came back as Kohli skied an Avesh delivery to long-off. Jitesh struck six and a four in a 17-run over off O’Rourke, and also escaped a run-out off the same bowler when he was involved in mix-up with Mayank. A 21-run over against Shahbaz eased the burden on RCB, leaving the equation at 51 off 30.
Jitesh kept dealing in boundaries, finding two of them in a 12-run over from Avesh as the required rate dropped below 10. The luck was on Jitesh’s side, too — he would have been on his way back with the scoreboard reading 49, when he went for the reverse sweep off Digvesh Rathi, and was adjudged caught but had to be recalled after the third umpire found it to be a back-foot no ball. The next free-hit was dispatched for a six as he raced to a 22-ball fifty. There was more drama in that over as the bowler attempted to run Jitesh out backing up too far at the non-striker’s end but Pant decided to withdraw the appeal. The equation was 28 off 18 when 18th over started, and it came down to 7 off 12 with Jitesh hitting two fours and two sixes in O’Rourke, who ended with 2 for 74. Jitesh, naturally, did the rest, hitting a six off Ayush Badoni and let out a roar as RCB pulled off their highest successful chase.
Brief scores:
Lucknow Super Giants 227-3 in 20 overs (Rishabh Pant 118\* not out, Mitchell Marsh 67; Nuwan Thushara 1-26) lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru 230-4 in 18.4 overs (Jitesh Sharma 85\*, Virat Kohli 54; William O’Rourke 2-74) by 6 wickets.