'Innings of IPL 2025 by a stretch' - Tom Moody hails Jitesh Sharma's batting masterclass vs LSG

Jitesh Sharma played a blinder of an innings against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Tuesday, May 27, at the Ekana Cricket Stadium to help Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) pull off their highest successful run-chase in Indian Premier League (IPL) history. They chased down a 228-run target with six wickets and eight balls to spare to finish at No. 2 on the points table, assuring a spot in Qualifier 1.

When Jitesh, the stand-in captain, walked out to bat in the 12th over, RCB had just lost the wicket of Virat Kohli for a 30-ball 54. The visitors needed 105 runs to win off 52 deliveries. The wicketkeeper-batter took the LSG bowlers to the cleaners and eventually finished unbeaten on 85 off 33 deliveries. His unbeaten partnership of 107 off 45 balls with Mayank Agarwal (41*) helped RCB win in a canter.

Tom Moody praised Jitesh's heroics, describing it as the best knock of IPL 2025 by a distance. The former Australian cricketer was surprised by how calm Jitesh was while going about his business, especially with several odds against him.

"The innings is, for me, the innings of the IPL this season by a stretch. We've seen some great knocks from young and old, but this one, wow, quite remarkable!" Moody told ESPNcricinfo after the match.

"The team was totally against it - backs against the wall, Kohli in the sheds, [Phil] Salt in the sheds. There was significant headwind, but he just ignored it all and just took the game apart. He not only took the game apart, he played smartly, just the way he went about it was like he'd been there and done it before many, many times," he added.

This is exactly what you're paying the big bucks for as a mid-order batter: Abhinav Mukund

Jitesh did have a few reprieves here and there. He survived a run-out chance and was caught off a no-ball. The 31-year-old also escaped a run-out attempt at the non-strikers' end.

Former India opener Abhinav Mukund mentioned that Jitesh rode his luck and slammed a memorable knock under pressure.

"And that's a great sign of any IPL cricketer, right? They were 172 for 3 in the last game, chasing 232; they got 189 all out. I know the wickets fell before him, but the pressure increased in the last game right after the timeout. I feared the same when he got out of that no-ball, but luck is a beautiful thing there. You get a reprieve, and then you say, 'Okay, this time I'm not making a mistake again.' That's exactly what happened," Mukund said.

"I'm very, very happy for Jitesh, but this is exactly what you're paying the big bucks for as a mid-order batter. And he's proven that a plenty. On a night when your top wicketkeeper or your World Cup wicketkeeper [Pant] gets a hundred and everyone's happy, this guy's got one better, I would think, with 85* off 33," he added.

Earlier in the match, Rishabh Pant's scintillating 118* off 61 balls and Mitchell Marsh's 37-ball 67 helped LSG post a massive total of 227/3. However, it wasn't enough to secure a win for the home side.