Digvesh Singh Rathi denied a couple of chances to dismiss Jitesh Sharma in the high-octane Indian Premier League match on Tuesday between Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Digvesh Rathi, who has been the find for LSG this season, finished wicketless in the last match of the season.
The leg-spinner came close to dismissing RCB's stand-in captain Jitesh twice in the same over, but destiny had something else in store. It was the 17th over of the innings - a dramatic one - Jitesh on the first ball attempted the reverse sweep but hit it straight to Ayush Badoni at point. Jitesh was livid while Rathi already celebrated in his trademark style, but the umpire decided to check for the no-ball. After a brief check, it turned out to be a rare backfoot no-ball.
On the fifth ball of the same over, Rathi attempted a non-striker run out to dismiss Jitesh Sharma, who left his crease early. The umpire once again went upstairs to check it and was given not out because of Rathi's release point before attempting the run-out. However, LSG skipper Rishabh Pant also withdrew the appeal when the third umpire was checking the replay.
{{/usCountry}}On the fifth ball of the same over, Rathi attempted a non-striker run out to dismiss Jitesh Sharma, who left his crease early. The umpire once again went upstairs to check it and was given not out because of Rathi's release point before attempting the run-out. However, LSG skipper Rishabh Pant also withdrew the appeal when the third umpire was checking the replay.
{{/usCountry}}RCB senior batter Virat Kohli was not impressed with Rathi's attempt to run out Jitesh on the non-striker's end, as he almost threw the bottle in the dressing room in frustration.
Jitesh Sharma leads RCB to Qualifier 1
Meanwhile, Jitesh led from the front and took his team to the qualifier 1 with a sensational six-wicket win over LSG. The stand-in skipper remained unbeaten on 85 off 33 balls, which was embellished with 8 fours and 6 sixes at an astonishing strike rate of 257.58.
Chasing a daunting target of 228, Virat Kohli got things rolling with a fiery 30-ball 54. The real fireworks came from Jitesh Sharma (85 off 33) and Mayank Agarwal (41 off 23), who stitched together a match-winning 107-run partnership for the fifth wicket, powering RCB to a sensational victory just in time for the playoffs.
They wrapped up the chase with eight balls still in hand and finished second on the points table to set up Qualifier 1 against Punjab Kings.
Earlier, after being put in to bat, LSG put up a massive total of 227/3 in their final game of the season, thanks to a sensational century from Rishabh Pant. Having faced a challenging IPL campaign, Pant signed off in style with a fiery 100 off just 54 balls, silencing critics in emphatic fashion. He remained unbeaten on 118 off 61 balls laced with 11 fours and 8 sixes.