India, May 28 -- Sparkling half centuries by Jitesh Sharma and Virat Kohli helped favourites Royal Challengers Bengaluru finish second in the IPL points table, notching up a thrilling six-wicket win over Lucknow Super Giants here on Tuesday. RCB finished second in the table and will play toppers Punjab Kings in Qualifier 1 in Mullanpur on Thursday.

Already in the playoffs, RCB desperately needed this win and Jitesh and Kohli with Mayank Agarwal made it happen, chasing down the 228-run target with eight balls to spare. It dashed LSG's hopes of a consolation win, raised on Rishabh Pant's unbeaten 118 that took them to 227/3. RCB became the first team to go through an IPL group stage without losing a designated away game.

Stand-in skipper ...