RCB seal qualifier place

Lucknow, May 27: Stand-in skipper Jitesh Sharma conjured up a sensational unbeaten 85 to help Royal Challengers Bengaluru trump Rishabh Pant’s exceptional 118 and seal the team's place in the IPL Qualifier 1 with a sensational six-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants, here Tuesday.

- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

The Royal Challengers will now face Punjab Kings in the Qualifier 1 at Mullanpur Thursday.

The RCB finished second on the table with 19 points, same as Punjab but finished behind them on net run rate +0.30 against PBKS +0.37.

The RCB started in a hurry chasing an imposing 228, as Virat Kohli (54, 30b, 10x4) and Phil Salt (30, 19b) added 61 runs in a mere 5.4 overs before Jitesh (85) and Mayank Agarwal (41) taking them home, making 107 runs for the impressive unbroken fifth wicket stand.

They eventually made 230/4 in 18.4 overs.

But it started with Kohli and Salt playing risk-free cricket even in the Power Play, hammering 12 fours in that phase before Salt getting dismissed by pacer Akash Khan. But Kohli continued to pierce the field for boundaries even after the Power Play, and a back foot punch that raced to the fence for a four off Akash was a treat to watch.

The shot also carried Kohli past the fifty-run mark off just 27 balls, but he could not convert that into something bigger.

The senior batter tried to bunt pacer Avesh Khan over long-off but could not clear Ayush Badoni in that position.