Last night, May 7, defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who won their maiden IPL title in 2025 since the tournament’s inception in 2008, missed a golden opportunity to climb to the top of the table after suffering a defeat against a struggling Lucknow Super Giants side sitting at the bottom of the IPL 2026 standings.
RCB entered the match as clear favourites after completing four consecutive successful run chases this season, but fell short by just nine runs despite heroic efforts from their middle order, led by skipper Rajat Patidar’s blistering 61 and the sheer raw power of 6’5″ Tim David, who smashed 40 off just 17 balls.
The credit, however, goes to the consistent bowling unit of LSG, which complemented the efforts of their batting unit from the 1st innings. Prince Yadav made the headlines with a special spell of 3 for 33, including the crucial wicket of ‘Chase Master’ Virat Kohli for a second-ball duck, guiding his side to a crucial win in a do-or-die stage of the season while ending the 6-match winless streak of the Rishabh Pant-led side.
Amid the loss, two RCB batters came under the spotlight for their sub-par performances in a side where almost every other batter has started well and contributed towards the team’s success. Former Indian cricketer Murali Kartik pointed out that RCB’s wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma and opener Jacob Bethell have been particularly disappointing in the batting unit this season.
Jitesh had a stellar debut season for RCB after being acquired for INR 11 crore ahead of the 2025 season. His performances stood out for his reliability as a match-finisher, scoring 261 runs in 15 matches and helping his franchise win its maiden title. His IPL 2025 performances also helped him re-establish himself in India’s T20I setup, where he played a major role in India’s 2025 Asia Cup triumph and the 3-1 series win against South Africa in December 2025.
However, he has been unable to replicate last season’s performances in the current IPL campaign, scoring just 64 runs in 8 innings, with his best score of 23 coming against LSG earlier this season. He once again failed to help his side in a crunch situation last night, falling for just 1 off 3 balls against LSG.
Kartik highlighted that Jitesh is going through a rough patch and that it is normal for a player of his calibre and experience to go through such a phase, especially after missing out on India’s squad for their triumphant T20 World Cup 2026 campaign despite his consistent performances for both franchise and country before the squad selection.
“In a way, it is a good thing that there is only one batter in the batting order who is out of form. That is fine, you never know when the form will come back. Every player goes through a phase like this; unfortunately for him, it is right now,” Kartik said on Cricbuzz.
Kartik also called out Bethell, who has failed to step up as a replacement for his compatriot Phil Salt, who is sidelined with a left-hand finger injury. It has become a headache for the RCB management as Salt’s return timeline remains uncertain, while Bethell has failed to make a substantial impact, scoring just 43 runs in his four outings so far. He once again failed to provide a strong start in RCB’s 213-run chase against LSG, scoring just 4 before falling to Mohammad Shami in the very first over.
Kartik stressed that Virat might be missing the starts Salt provides, as the duo shared a dominant opening partnership last season, amassing 565 runs together and helping RCB clinch its maiden championship.
“RCB have one more problem, and that is Jacob Bethell. When will Phil Salt return? Bethell has scored only 44 runs in four games, and RCB were doing well at the top before him. When Phil Salt and Virat Kohli were batting together, things were different,” Kartik added.
RCB need Jitesh’s presence in the middle order to step up as the season enters a crucial stage. At the same time, Bethell also needs to make the most of his opportunities amid the ongoing debate regarding his limited playing time in the IPL.
