Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain Rishabh Pant withdrew his bowler Digvesh Rathi’s appeal against Jitesh Sharma after the RCB stand-in skipper was run out at the non-striker’s end. Jitesh ended up winning it for RCB with an unbeaten 85 off just 33 balls.
Jitesh Sharma pulled off an all-timer of a run-chase for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), their highest-ever, to push his side to the first qualifier. Jitesh, the stand-in captain for RCB for a couple of games now, got multiple chances during his innings, including a run-out chance which was fluffed by Will O’Rourke, getting caught off a no-ball by Digvesh Rathi and getting adjudged not out after the the LSG spinner had run him out on the non-striker end, followed by a withdrawn appeal from Rishabh Pant, the home skipper.
The third umpire used the words such as “completed his delivery stride” and “popping crease” to adjudge it not out and in the meantime Pant had already withdrawn the appeal. Jitesh Sharma hugged Pant for the gesture and even the commentators lauded Pant for upholding ‘Spirit of the Game’ but if he hadn’t withdrawn it and the umpire would have understood the rules clearly, it would have been out since Rathi hadn’t reached the highest point of his release.
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RCB needed 29 off 19 when the incident took place. If the Super Giants had gotten a set batter in Jitesh out at that point, the game could have gone either way. Even though someone like Romario Shepherd would have come in to bat, a new batter would have found it difficult to get going immediately.
Jitesh Sharma then went berserk in the 18th over by O’Rourke, hitting him for a couple of sixes and as many fours to almost seal the deal for RCB, before formally finishing it off in the 19th over, bowled by Ayush Badoni. Mayank Agarwal too played his hand at the other end, smashing an unbeaten 41 off just 23 deliveries while Jitesh Sharma remained unbeaten on 85 off just 33 deliveries.
RCB finished off the chase with eight balls to spare and became the first team to complete a 100 per cent away record in the league stage in a season. RCB will play the Punjab Kings in the first qualifier in Mullanpur on Thursday, May 29.
