Jitesh Sharma’s sensational one-handed catch to dismiss Azmatullah Omarzai was the perfect exclamation point on a dream day for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the first qualifier of IPL 2025. Everything RCB touched against Punjab Kings seemed to turn to gold, with the match dominated from the very first over.
Rajat Patidar, leading RCB with calm authority, opted to bowl first after winning the toss — a decision that turned out to be spot on. The bowlers backed him up with a ruthless performance, rolling over the Punjab Kings for just 101 runs in a mere 14.1 overs.
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PBKS never found their footing after a shaky start. Within the powerplay, they had already lost four crucial wickets — Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Shreyas Iyer, and Josh Inglis — and could only scrape together 38 runs. The early collapse was a body blow they couldn’t recover from.
What a catch by Jitesh Sharma 🔥 #RCBvsPBKS pic.twitter.com/6vK40fXzIk
— Truth Slayer (@TruthSlayer_24) May 29, 2025
Jitesh Sharma is a spider man what a catch 🤯🤯🤯 #JiteshSharma #RCBvsPBKS #IPLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/1hfjPPOZ3k
— Rishi (@Rishi36135825) May 29, 2025
Yash Dayal further dented their hopes in the seventh over by removing Nehal Wadhera, while the introduction of spin only deepened the crisis. Leg-spinner Suyash Sharma bowled with maturity beyond his years, claiming three wickets in the space of two overs. He outfoxed Shashank Singh and Musheer Khan with his variations in his first over, then dismissed Marcus Stoinis — the lone resistance — in his second.
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As wickets tumbled, PBKS’ innings unraveled rapidly. Harpreet Brar’s dismissal left them nine down, and then came the final blow: Josh Hazlewood bowled a teasing length ball outside off, and Omarzai went for the big heave. He got a thick edge, and Jitesh Sharma, diving full stretch to his right, plucked a stunning one-handed catch behind the stumps.
Only Stoinis managed to score more than 20, with his 26 the lone highlight in an otherwise grim scoreboard. For RCB, both Hazlewood and Suyash starred with the ball, grabbing three wickets apiece as the team stormed into a commanding position early in the playoff.
