Stand-in RCB captain Jitesh Sharma credited his guru, Dinesh Karthik, after smashing a sensational unbeaten 85 to help Royal Challengers Bengaluru seal a place in the IPL Qualifier 1 with a stunning six-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants at Ekana on Tuesday as well. While Rishabh Pant’s unbeaten 118 off 61 balls lifted LSG to 227/3, it was Jitesh Sharma who sealed the deal.
“I won’t be able to express my thoughts. I still cannot believe that I managed to play a knock like that. I was trying to stay in the moment and watch the ball as closely as possible,” Jitesh said after being named Player of the Match. “I wasn’t thinking of anything to be fair. When Virat Kohli got out, I decided to take the game deep. This is what my guru, DK, told me. That no matter what stage you go in, you have to take the game deep and you have the caliber that you can finish the game.”
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“I was getting cramps because there was a lot of pressure on me. It is a big franchise but I am enjoying the pressure. I have a lot of experienced players near me. Bhuvi bhai, Virat bhai, Krunal bhai. When I look at them, I get excited that I am playing with such big names and I enjoy that pressure,” he further added.
Meanwhile, Mayank Agarwal, who remained unbeaten on 41, backed Jitesh with a steady knock. He started as the aggressor before allowing Sharma to take charge. They added 107 runs for the fifth wicket, and reached the target in the 19th over.
“We thought about it but we want to enjoy this moment. I will surely enjoy it. We will work on recovery as well. The moment that we have, we would like to take it forward in the Qualifiers as well,” he said. “I think credit goes to Rajat. It was my responsibility to keep his record intact and by the grace of God, I managed to keep the record.”
“Hazlewood is fit and he should be there for the knockouts. The belief in the team is strong. Liam didn’t click tonight but he’s a match winner. Bhuvi bhai didn’t do well tonight but he too is a match winner. There is belief in the team that someone will take the team over the line,” he concluded.
