Kohli, Jitesh Put Pant Ton To Shade, RCB In Top Two

RCB's six-wicket win over LSG help them finish behind toppers PBKS, and the two will meet in Qualifier 1

- Sharad Deep

LUCKNOW: Sparkling half-centuries by Jitesh Sharma and Virat Kohli helped favourites Royal Challengers Bengaluru finish second in the IPL points table, notching up a thrilling six-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants here on Tuesday. RCB finished second in the table and will play toppers Punjab Kings in Qualifier 1 in Mullanpur on Thursday.

Already in the playoffs, RCB desperately needed this win and Jitesh and Kohli, with Mayank Agarwal, made it happen, chasing down the 228-run target with eight balls to spare. It dashed LSG's hopes of a consolation win, raised on Rishabh Pant's unbeaten 118 that took them to 227/3. RCB became the first team to go through an IPL group stage without losing a designated away game.

Stand-in skipper Jitesh and Agarwal added 107 runs for the unbroken fifth wicket as RCB reached 230/4 in 18.4 overs. Jitesh hammered 85 in 33 balls (4x8, 6x6). Agarwal hit a 23-ball 41 (5x4).