Jitesh 85* trumps Pant 118* as RCB make Qualifier 1

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) stormed into Qualifier 1 of IPL 2025 as stand-in captain Jitesh Sharma's 85 not out off 33 balls helped them pull off the third-highest successful chase in the tournament's history.

Rishabh Pant's unbeaten 118 off 61 balls had powered Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) to 227 for 3, but RCB chased it down with eight balls and six wickets to spare. They will now face table-toppers Punjab Kings (PBKS) in New Chandigarh on Thursday.

Virat Kohli and Phil Salt gave RCB a start of 61 in 5.4 overs. Salt began the first over with a four; Kohli ended it with a four. Salt began the second over with a four; Kohli ended it with four fours. After four overs, RCB had raced to 50 for no loss. Akash Singh broke through with Salt's wicket, but Kohli carried on. He chipped Shahbaz Ahmed over his head for a four before hitting Akash on the up through the covers to raise his fifty off 27 balls.

Having conceded 22 in his first over, Will O'Rourke returned to bowl the eighth over of the innings. Rajat Patidar, who was in as Impact Player once again, picked him over deep square-leg for a six. Two balls later, Kohli hit him over extra cover for four. But O'Rourke had the last laugh as Patidar slashed his fifth ball straight to Abdul Samad at backward point. Off the next, he had Liam Livingstone lbw with a full delivery. Kohli fell soon after his fifty, slicing Avesh Khan to long-off. With RCB still needing 105 from 8.4 overs, ESPNcricinfo's Forecaster gave them a 21.07% chance of winning.

Jitesh started with a boundary off the first ball, but Akash conceded only seven in the 13th over to increase RCB's troubles - they needed 89 from seven. Mayank Agarwal had got off to a brisk start and was on 27 off 15 at that point. But Jitesh decided to take matters into his own hands and hit O'Rourke for a six and a four in a 17-run over.

When Shahbaz came on for the 15th over, Jitesh took him apart. He hit him for two fours and a six before Agarwal ended the over with a boundary off his own. That over went for 21 and tilted the balance in RCB's favour. Now they needed only 51 from five overs.

Jitesh hit two more fours off Avesh in the next before having a slice of luck. With 39 required from four overs, he tried a reverse sweep off Digvesh Rathi only to be caught at backward point. It was a low catch and the on-field umpires wanted the TV umpire to have a look. But even before that, the TV umpire found Rathi's back foot touching the return crease. Jitesh heaved the free hit that followed over deep midwicket to bring up his fifty off 22 balls. It was his first-ever IPL fifty.

The drama didn't end there. As Rathi ran in for the last ball of the over, he aborted and broke the stumps at the non-striker's end. Jitesh was out of his crease at that point. However, the TV umpire ruled it not out, saying Rathi had completed his "delivery stride" before effecting the run out. In the meantime, Pant had withdrawn the appeal.

With 28 required from the last three overs, Jitesh smashed O'Rourke for two fours and two sixes and then completed the formalities with a slog-swept six off Ayush Badoni in the penultimate over.

Earlier, RCB opted to bowl after winning the toss but their decision not to bowl Bhuvneshwar Kumar until the fifth over was baffling, especially after Nuwan Thushara had found swing in the opening over and had shattered Matthew Breetzke's off stump with an awayswinging, low full toss in the third. This was the first time since 2015 that Bhuvneshwar did not share the new ball in an IPL game. By the time he came on, the swing had died.

Batting at No. 3, Pant played a scintillating knock that featured 11 fours, eight sixes and every Pant idiosyncrasy, including a one-handed six, a sideways tumble after failing to reach a wide delivery, and a frontflip to celebrate his hundred.

He attacked straightaway. In the fourth over, he hit Yash Dayal for a six and two fours to move to 19 off just eight. That this was already his third-highest score of the season said all you needed to know about his form.

In the seventh over, with no swing on offer, Bhuvneshwar tried a short ball. Pant duly pulled him over deep midwicket for a six. On the next delivery, Livingstone's misfield at deep square-leg gifted him another boundary. Shortly after that, Pant brought up his fifty, off 29 balls.

Mitchell Marsh, who was on 33 off 23 after ten overs, also joined in. Off his next eight balls, he smashed 20. He and Pant added 152 off 78 balls, a stand Bhuvneshwar broke by having Marsh caught behind in the 16th over.

Pant was unstoppable, though. He brought up his hundred with a Pant shot and followed it up with a Pant celebration. It was a full and wide delivery from Bhuvneshwar. Pant reached out and scythed it over extra cover for four. By the time he completed the shot, his front leg was in the air, beyond parallel to the ground, the toe pointing towards deep midwicket. After regaining the balance, he looked up, removed his helmet and gloves, and did the flip. The LSG dugout stood up to applaud, as did the home crowd.

Jitesh erred in the over distribution. Krunal Pandya, who bowled the second over of the innings, sent down just one more and finished with 2-0-14-0, while Romario Shepherd leaked 51 from his four. By the end of the day, however, he had more than made up for it.