RCB went on to beat LSG by six wickets and seal a spot in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2025.
There was a display of true sportsmanship in IPL 2025 on Tuesday when Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) skipper Rishabh Pant withdrew his team’s DRS appeal after spinner Digvesh Singh Rathi ran-out Jitesh Sharma at the non-striker’s end.
The incident happened during the 17th over of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s run chase. In the last ball of the over, Digvesh was bowling to Mayank Agarwal but the former noticed Jitesh stepping out of the crease. Digvesh went on to “Mankad” Jitesh at the bowler’s end, with the latter’s bat in the air.
Jitesh hugged Rishabh Pant after the latter’s decision to not review the decision. The umpires did send it to the third umpire for a check, and the verdict was given not out. “The bowler has completed his delivery stride and passed the popping crease,” the third umpire said.
However, the third umpire was wrong here as he hadn’t taken into the account the actual law which says the following:
38.3.1 At any time from the moment the ball comes into play until the instant when the bowler would normally have been expected to release the ball, the non-striker is liable to be Run out if he/she is out of his/her ground. In these circumstances the non-striker will be out Run out if he/she is out of his/her ground when his/her wicket is broken by the bowler throwing the ball at the stumps or by the bowler’s hand holding the ball, whether or not the ball is subsequently delivered.
Digvesh’s right arm hadn’t gone up until the point of release and so he was within his right to run out Jitesh and he did so while the RCB stand-in skipper was outside the crease. According to the law, that should have been out, but the third umpire gave it not put (incorrectly) by stating that Digvesh had completed his action (again, incorrectly).
But eventually it was the right decision because Pant decided to withdraw the appeal (he is within his rights as captain to do so). Had Pant not withdrawn the appeal, the right decision would have been to give Jitesh out.
Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa and ex-Australia captain Michael Clarke hailed Rishabh Pant on withdrawing the appeal. “He’s in the wrong there, Jitesh. He’s watching him bowl, and the momentum is high and he just walked, he was caught unawares. He wasn’t trying to steal a run. But you got to follow the rules of the game,” Robin Uthappa said on JioHotstar.
“The bowler is in his right, and the ruling is that the batter is out. I’m like Rishabh Pant. I know it’s in the rules. But Rishabh Pant was great to withdraw it. I am proud of him. The bowler has done nothing wrong, but Pant did great to revoke the appeal,” Michael Clarke said.
Jitesh Sharma was unbeaten at 57 with Mayank Agarwal at 39 not out. Jitesh Sharma and Mayank Agarwal forged an unbeaten 107 runs for the fifth wicket to power Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a six-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants in Lucknow. The three-time champions successfully chased down a target of 228 runs in 18.4 overs.
The stand-in skipper Jitesh remained unbeaten on 85 whereas Mayank Agarwal played a valuable contribution of 41. Earlier, former RCB captain Virat Kohli scored 54 runs from 30 balls as he forged a 61-run stand with Phil Salt (30) for the first wicket.
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RCB had won the toss and opted to field first. That decision, however, proved to be a setback as Lucknow Super Giants posted a total of 227/3 from 20 overs. Mitchell Marsh (67) forged a 155-run stand with Rishabh Pant (118) for the second wicket after losing Matthew Breetzke (13) early.
LSG’s season might have got over but Rishabh Pant still had something to give to their fans as he roared back to form with a 54-ball century. However, that eventually went in vain as LSG finished the season in seventh place with 12 points from 14 matches.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru, on the other hand, secured themselves a top two finish and will face Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Qualifier 1 on Thursday (May 29) in Mullanpur. Five-time champions Mumbai Indians will lock horns against Hardik Pandya’s former side Gujarat Titans in the Eliminator on May 30, which will also take place in Mullanpur.
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