Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma carried his sensational form in T20 cricket on Sunday, leading NECO Master Blaster to a heart-stopping seven-wicket win over Pagariya Strikers to win the Vidarbha Pro T20 League title at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur.
Pursuing a difficult target of 179, Vedant Dighade and Adhyan Daga started the innings well, scoring a 35-run association before Daga was run out for 22 off 16 balls. Aryam Meshram joined Dighade next and the pair contributed 90 runs before Dighade was run out for 42 off 26 balls. Entering at number five, the in-form captain Jitesh Sharma took charge, smashing three sixes and a boundary at a blazing strike rate of 272.72. With six runs required off 14 balls, he sealed the win with a powerful hit over spinner K Salve’s head, sparking jubilant celebrations.
Dighade remained unbeaten on 80 runs from 52 balls. Upon winning, Jitesh jokingly attempted to stalk off alone from his teammates but was intercepted by the sports therapist of the team, and so the celebrations were also filled with humor. This was the second occasion that Jitesh ended a match in such a fashion, he had earlier guided his team to the win against Bharat Rangers in the semi-final with a decisive 46 off 22 balls. His reputation of being a trusted finisher was cemented further by his match-winning performances in IPL 2025, such as an unbeaten 85 against Lucknow Super Giants and 24 in the decider.
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The Pagariya Strikers had gone unbeaten till the final but dropped the plot on the big day. In spite of the defeat, Shanmesh Deshmukh’s scorching 82 of 45 balls saw him take the player of the match award. In the first innings, the Strikers stuttered in the beginning, losing three wickets for only 27 runs in 3.3 overs. MD Faiz added 19 runs off 12 balls, whereas Dhruv Shorey contributed 6 off 5. Shivam Deshmukh ensured that the innings were stable with a gritty 82 runs off 45 balls, ably supported by decent contributions from Pushpak Gujar (25), Yash Kadam (16), and Vishesh Tiwari, who remained not out on 23. The Strikers reached a fighting total of 178 for 7 in their 20 overs.
