Virat Kohli scored 54 and captain Jitesh Sharma tore up an undefeated 85 as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) chased down their best total in the Indian Premier League, third overall. After defeating the Lucknow Super Giants by six wickets on Tuesday, RCB secured a berth in the first qualifying round of the IPL 2025 playoffs.
In the last league game of the season, Bengaluru overcame 228 to move up to second place in the 10-team standings. On Thursday, they will play the table-topping Punjab Kings.
It was the most successful run chase ever by RCB and the third-highest in IPL history.
List of the IPL’s Most Successful Run-Chases
- PBKS vs. KKR, Kolkata, 2024, 262
- 246: Hyderabad, 2025: SRH vs. PBKS
- RCB vs. LSG, Lucknow, 2025, 228
- RR vs. PBKS, Sharjah, 2020, 224
- RR vs. KKR, Kolkata, 2024, 224
The Most Successful Run-Chases for RCB
- LSG vs. 228 in Lucknow, 2025
- 215 vs South Australia, CLT20, 2011, Bengaluru
- 204 vs Bengaluru’s PBKS, 2010
- 204 vs. NSW, CLT20, 2011, Bengaluru
- Ahmedabad versus. GT, 2024, 201
With this outcome, the Gujarat Titans moved up to third place and will now play the Mumbai Indians in Friday’s eliminator.
On June 3, the winners of qualifier 1 go straight to the championship match. To determine who advances to Ahmedabad for the final, the losers receive another shot by competing against the winner of the eliminator in qualifier 2.
In his team’s 227-3, Lucknow captain Rishabh Pant finished with an undefeated 118 off 61 balls, but Bengaluru reached the goal with eight balls remaining.
Kohli’s 30-ball knock laid the groundwork. Stand-in captain Jitesh Sharma outscored Lucknow, who were already out from the playoffs, with an undefeated 107-run combination with Mayank Agarwal, who scored 41, after his departure.
“I’m speechless; I can’t believe I played that knock,” Jitesh, the player of the match, remarked. “I was just considering taking it seriously when my brother, Virat bhai, left.”
The 36-year-old Kohli, who along with Rohit Sharma announced earlier this month that he was retiring from Test cricket, struck over 9,000 runs for Bengaluru, which is the highest any batsman has scored for a single team in men’s Twenty20 cricket. For Mumbai, Rohit’s 6,060 is the next highest.
Together with opening partner Phil Salt, who scored 30, Kohli contributed 61 runs. However, the chase faltered as Lucknow retaliated with wickets, notably the quick Will O’Rourke of New Zealand, who took two in two balls.
O’Rourke had Liam Livingstone leg before for a golden duck after dismissing regular captain and impact replacement Rajat Patidar for 14.
With eight fours and six sixes, including the game-winning shot over the fence in his 33-ball knock, Jitesh altered the tide of the match with his maiden IPL fifty.
