Jitesh remained unbeaten on 40 in just 19 deliveries, comprising two boundaries and four maximums.
Jitesh Sharma played an audacious scoop shot off Trent Boult in the 19th over last night. Boult bowled a fuller-length delivery to Jitesh, who walked across and went on one knee to play the shot. The ball hit the middle of his willow and sailed all over the boundary for a massive maximum.
Following the game’s conclusion, Jitesh credited Dinesh Karthik, RCB’s batting coach and mentor, for playing this innovative shot against a quality bowler. In a video posted by the official handle of Royal Challengers Bengaluru, he talked about how Karthik made him realise his caliber and added more dimensions to his batting.
“All credit goes to Dinesh Karthik (DK bhai). Because of his efforts only, I was capable to do this, to know my caliber that I can hit also because I never played those shots. But when I met him (for the) first time, he said that you can play 360, you can play every shot of cricket. You need to believe and do some hard work. So, I gave all my trust to him, and I said whatever you say, I will do it blindly.”
Karthik also revealed that he had worked with Jitesh on a few shots before the season. He also praised the wicketkeeper batter for his courage and hard work, labelling him a “special player”.
When Jitesh Sharma came to the crease, RCB had lost two big wickets of Virat Kohli (67) and Liam Livingstone (0) in three deliveries, and the scoreboard read 144/4 in 14.3 overs. RCB needed a batter who could take the momentum forward without losing a quick wicket anymore, and Jitesh Sharma did it precisely while batting at No.6.
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He was aggressive straight away and nailed his shots perfectly to provide impetus in the death overs. Jitesh remained unbeaten on 40 in just 19 deliveries, comprising two boundaries and four maximums, at a phenomenal strike rate of 210.53.
He weaved a rapid partnership with Rajat Patidar to power RCB to 221/5 in their allotted 20 overs. In the death overs, MI had several quality bowlers with vast previous experience, but Jitesh backed himself to play big shots and unleashed his range at the right time.
Eventually, his knock was the difference, as RCB won the contest by 12 runs to earn their third win. Had Jitesh not come up with a timely cameo, RCB would have ended around 200 and might have suffered a defeat.
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