In a thrilling conclusion to the league stage of the TATA tournament, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) secured a spot in Qualifier 1 with a six-wicket victory over Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Ekana Stadium on Monday.

Skipper Jitesh Sharma delivered an impressive performance, scoring an unbeaten 85 off just 33 balls, earning him the Player of the Match title, and leading RCB to the third-highest successful run chase in IPL history.

This victory secured RCB a matchup against Punjab Kings in Qualifier 1 and made them the first team to win all seven away matches in a single IPL season.

RCB won the toss and chose to bowl in this crucial league match, while LSG, already out of playoff contention, made several changes. Aiden Markram was unavailable due to international commitments, allowing Matthew Breetzke to debut in his IPL. However, Breetzke made little impact and was dismissed by Nuwan Thushara in the third over.

LSG captain Rishabh Pant came in at No. 3 and quickly took control of the innings. Along with the consistent Mitchell Marsh, Pant steadied the ship before launching an aggressive assault. The duo propelled LSG to 100 runs for the loss of one wicket by the halfway mark.