It was a night to remember for Rishabh Pant at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. The LSG skipper put on a show, smashing a scintillating 118 off just 61 deliveries, steering his side to a formidable total of 227/3.
His innings featured aggressive stroke play, clean hitting, and relentless pressure on RCB’s bowlers. In response, Royal Challengers Bengaluru came out firing, putting up 61/0 in just five overs, signaling a thrilling chase in the making.
However, things began to fall apart for RCB after Phil Salt was dismissed by Akash Singh in the sixth over. Rajat Patidar joined the chase, but key wickets soon followed. Faf du Plessis and Liam Livingstone fell without contributing much, and although Virat Kohli anchored briefly with a quickfire 54 off 30, his dismissal left RCB reeling under pressure. The innings lost momentum right when they needed it most.
Amidst the drama, a comic moment unfolded involving LSG spinner Digvesh Rathi. In the 17th over, Rathi bowled a clever googly to Jitesh Sharma, who attempted an ambitious reverse sweep. He mistimed it completely, sending the ball high toward backward point where Ayush Badoni took a sharp low catch. Rathi burst into his trademark celebration, thinking he had made a crucial breakthrough.
But the celebration turned out to be premature. The umpires sent the decision upstairs, and while the catch was clean, replays revealed Rathi’s back foot had landed outside the return crease — a no-ball. The wicket was canceled, and Jitesh was handed a second chance, much to LSG’s frustration.
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Jitesh capitalized immediately, launching the very next ball for a towering 89-meter six over midwicket. Social media exploded with memes and reactions, many poking fun at Rathi’s early celebration. What looked like a game-changing wicket turned into a moment of regret for the bowler and a highlight of the match for fans.