‘Any situation, you have to take the game deep, you have the calibre..’: What RCB mentor Dinesh Karthik told Jitesh Sharma

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RCB's Jitesh Sharma in action against LSG. (Sportzpics for IPL)

With Royal Challengers Bengaluru completing the third-highest run-chase in Indian Premier League (IPL) history with their six-wicket win over Rishabh Pant led Lucknow Super Giants at Ekana in Lucknow on Tuesday, it also meant that the Bengaluru side finished second in the points table. With the win, the team qualified for the Qualifier 1 against Punjab Kings to be played on May 29 at Mullanpur. Stand-in skipper Jitesh Sharma was the hero of the day for the Bengaluru side as he played a 33-ball knock of 85 runs to guide his team home in the run chase. The 31-year-old wicket-keeper batsman has credited RCB batting coach and mentor Dinesh Karthik for the impactful knock.

“I won’t be able to express my thoughts. I still cannot believe that I played such an innings. I was trying to stay in the moment and watch the ball as closely as possible. I wasn’t thinking of anything at that time. When Virat Kohli got out, I decided to take the game deep. Like my mentor, guru Dinesh Karthik Anna told me, ‘Any situation, you have to take the game deep, and you have the calibre that you can finish the game anytime,'” Jitesh said in the post-match presentation ceremony.

With RCB losing Virat Kohli in the 12th over and still needing 105 runs in 8.4 overs to win the match, Jitesh along with Mayank Agarwal stitched together an unbeaten fifth wicket partnership of 107 runs to guide his team home with eight balls remaining in the match. Jitesh, who got a reprieve after he was caught by Ayush Badoni off a Digvesh Rathi delivery in the 17th over with the ball being declared as no-ball, completed his half-century the next ball with a six. The 31-year-old also talked about how he struggled with cramps during the run-chase. “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 Virat bhai, Krunal bhai, Bhuvi bhai. When I look at them, I get excited that I am playing with such big names. I enjoy that pressure,” said Jitesh.

Agarwal, who played a knock of 41 runs off 23 balls, also talked about how the pair targeted Lucknow Super Giants spinner Digvesh Rathi and how the pair went about their business.

“There’s very less talking to do. I just had to give him the strike. Jitesh just put on a show. There are no words to describe what he did. We were just calculating. We knew Digvesh had one over. So we were like, if we could get 10 off him. The wicket was good to target the fast bowlers. Jitesh just did what he had to. It builds a lot of confidence and momentum… we couldn’t do it last game. When I came in, we had lost two quick wickets. It was good that Virat and I could get quick runs going at that time. Then it was about one batsman batting through. I’m glad we took them down.” Agarwal said in the post-match presentation.

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