"He had an infamous record to his name" - Aakash Chopra lauds Jitesh Sharma's knock in RCB's IPL 2025 win vs LSG

Former India player Aakash Chopra has lauded Jitesh Sharma for playing a match-winning knock in the Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) IPL 2025 clash against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). He noted that the stand-in RCB skipper no longer has the 'infamous' record of not having scored a half-century despite reaching close to the milestone multiple times in his IPL career.

LSG set RCB a mammoth 228-run target in the final league game of IPL 2025 in Lucknow on Tuesday, May 27. Jitesh blasted an unbeaten 85 off 33 deliveries in the chase as the visitors achieved the target with six wickets and eight deliveries to spare to book their berth in Qualifier 1.

Reflecting on the Royal Challengers Bengaluru's chase in a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra', the former India opener praised Jitesh for scoring a match-defining maiden IPL half-century when his side was in a spot of bother.

"When the fourth wicket fell at 123, things were looking a little dicey. Will O'Rourke was on a hat-trick. Liam Livingstone came and went. It seems like he is the new Glenn Maxwell of the IPL. However, they batted incredibly. Captain Jitesh Sharma - leading from the front, leading by example," Chopra said (5:50).

"His batting was terrific. He stayed till the end. In fact, it's his first IPL fifty. He had scored many forties. He had an infamous record to his name, that he had played so many knocks and scored more than 800 runs, and was the only such player not to have scored a fifty thus far," he added.

The cricketer-turned-commentator also appreciated Mayank Agarwal for assisting Jitesh in a perfectly planned chase.

"He scored a fifty and won the match. Doing a run chase so immaculately was outstanding. Mayank Agarwal was there with him. He was made to bat down the order this time. He also batted incredibly, and they won with six wickets to spare," Chopra observed.

Mayank Agarwal scored an unbeaten 41 off 23 deliveries in RCB's IPL 2025 clash against LSG. The Karnataka batter and Jitesh Sharma stitched together an unbroken 107-run fifth-wicket partnership in just 7.2 overs to take their team over the line.

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"Both complement each other" - Aakash Chopra lauds Virat Kohli and Phil Salt's opening partnership in RCB's IPL 2025 win vs LSG

Phil Salt (left) and Virat Kohli stitched together a half-century partnership in RCB's IPL 2025 clash against LSG. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra praised Virat Kohli and Phil Salt for giving RCB a flying start in their IPL 2025 clash against LSG.

"You need to hit from the start when you are chasing a 225-230 total, and they did that. Phil Salt and Virat Kohli are batting incredibly. It's not that they are stitching together 100 or 125-run partnerships, but they run at a very high speed, and both complement each other," he said.

The analyst noted that Kohli continues to improve his game, highlighting that the 'chase master' ensured that RCB were never behind the eight ball whilst he was at the crease.

"If I talk about Virat Kohli's technique, it seems like the software continues to get updated and upgraded. He still plays close to the body. When he hits in the air, it doesn't seem like he is taking risks. Until he was playing, you were never behind the required run rate, and in fact, you were slightly ahead. He showed why he is the chase master," Chopra observed.

While Virat Kohli scored 54 runs off 30 deliveries, Phil Salt contributed a 19-ball 30. The duo added 61 runs for the opening wicket in just 5.4 overs to lay the platform for RCB's chase.