Lucknow : Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter, Mayank Agarwal, spoke about how important it was to get a good start in the power play when chasing a big target. He highlighted the crucial role of Phil Salt and Virat Kohli in providing that start, not just in this game but also in the previous one.
Stand-in RCB captain Jitesh Sharma arguably played the knock of his life and lifted Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a handsome victory as they overcame Lucknow Super Giants with a six-wicket triumph in the final group stage game of the 18th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
"The way we started in the power play really gave us the belief in the dugout. When you're chasing a big target like that, getting a good start is crucial, and Phil and Virat have done just that, and not in this game. They did that in the last game as well. So we had to stay calm and calculate our way in between and then finish strong, and like everybody saw, Jitesh did what he did was spectacular," Mayank Agarwal said in the post-match press conference.
Kohli and Salt gave RCB a flying start while chasing a huge target of 228. The duo added 61 runs in just 34 balls before Akash Maharaj Singh forced the breakthrough by removing Salt on 30(19) in the final over of the powerplay.
Agarwal also praised the RCB bowlers. He said," I think it was a very important game for us, you know, and it was a good wicket, but I thought our bowlers bowled well. We could have been a little luckier. We would have had a few edges come our way."
Punjab stayed at the top of the standings, while RCB moved to the second spot with two more points. RCB have booked a date with Punjab Kings in Qualifier 1 on Thursday, while Gujarat Titans, who slipped to third, will face Mumbai Indians in the Eliminator on Friday.
Bengaluru pulled off the third-highest successful run chase in the tournament's history, courtesy of an unbeaten 107-run partnership between Mayank Agarwal and Jitesh Sharma. Notably, this was just the third time RCB chased down a 200-plus run target. RCB's six-wicket triumph is the highest total chased in Lucknow.