WATCH: Jitesh Sharma expresses his feeling captaining Royal Challengers Bengaluru for first time in IPL 2025

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are currently up against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) without their regular captain, Rajat Patidar, who is reportedly injured and sidelined for the remainder of the season but can make contributions as an impact player with the bat.

Without Patidar, RCB management sent Jitesh Sharma as their stand-in skipper against SRH at the Ekana Cricket Stadium. Sharma won the toss and decided to field first against the side led by Pat Cummins.

SRH, already knocked out of the playoff contention, and RCB, already into the round of four, the scenario makes the match a little bit pale on pen and paper, but both of the teams stepped onto the ground to confirm 2 more points. RCB needs those points to confirm their spot in the top 2, and for SRH, it is the battle for saving their pride.

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Sharma said about his past experience as a captain in IPL

The weather is humid, and the surface is not familiar for RCB, so Jitesh chose the safest option— bowl first to utilize most of the moisture from the pitch. The 31-year-old wicketkeeper batter has a very brief experience as a captain in the past.

 In one IPL match with Punjab Kings, Sharma was the captain against the same opponent, Sunrisers Hyderabad. After winning the toss, he said, "It's my first time captaining RCB. I captained PBKS against SRH last year. We are thinking of fielding first and want to take most of the surface from the moisture. We are looking forward to finishing the league on top of the table and entering the playoffs."

Watch the toss here

HUGE ROAR FOR JITESH SHARMA - The Craze is massive for RCB 🤯 pic.twitter.com/INLtEwLylf

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) May 23, 2025