KOLKATA, 2026: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) secured victory by five wickets (with 29 balls remaining), delivering an impressive all-round performance and complete dominance over Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the 23rd match of the IPL 2026 season at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Virat Kohli’s strong cameo as an impact player ensured that the match concluded in a convincingly one-sided manner.
The match began with RCB won the toss and chose to bowl first. LSG opened with Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram, and they started the powerplay well, with Markram smashing a 102-meter six. However, he got out early, dismissed by Rasikh Dar. At No. 3, Rishabh Pant came in, but due to an injury, he was forced to retire hurt after being struck on the elbow by a sharp, pacey delivery from Josh Hazlewood. LSG ended up at 35/1 in the powerplay, their lowest powerplay total of the season. Right after the powerplay ended, on the very next ball, Josh Hazlewood dismissed Nicholas Pooran for just 1 run. Ayush Badoni came in next. Mitchell Marsh tried to accelerate but got out to Krunal Pandya after scoring 40 in 32 balls. Abdul Samad also got out quickly to Krunal Pandya, who marked a milestone by registering his 100th IPL wicket. Then Mukul Choudhary came in. Badoni (38 in 24 balls) and Mukul (39 in 28 balls) contributed some runs for LSG, bringing some hope, but wickets kept falling quickly. Rishabh Pant returned in the 16th over to stabilize the situation but was dismissed after just 3 deliveries by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, caught brilliantly by Phil Salt. Then, with a superb yorker, Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed Mohammed Shami. Rasikh Dar took the final wicket, and LSG were dismissed for 146, the lowest total this season so far to chase for RCB. RCB were outstanding in bowling and fielding, especially Josh Hazlewood, who took 1 wicket in 4 overs for 20 runs with an economy of 5.00 and became the Player of the Match. An excellent performance also came from Rasikh Dar, who took 4 wickets in 4 overs, conceding only 24 runs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Krunal Pandya, and all the bowlers did a fantastic job to dismantle LSG’s batting lineup.
In the second innings, Phil Salt and Virat Kohli (who did not play in the first innings due to a health issue) came as an impact player to open for RCB. To defend a modest total, LSG needed quick wickets. Phil Salt got out early, dismissed by Prince Yadav after scoring 7 in 8 balls. Devdutt Padikkal came in at No. 3. Kohli shifted the momentum entirely, going aggressive in the powerplay and dismantling the LSG bowling attack with multiple boundaries. By the end of the powerplay, Kohli had scored 40 in 20 balls, and RCB were 60/1. Devdutt Padikkal got out after scoring 10 in 11 balls (caught by substitute, bowled by Avesh Khan). Rajat Patidar came in to bat next. After that, Kohli got out on 49 in 34 balls, narrowly missing his half-century, but he had already done his job brilliantly by scoring heavily in the powerplay. With that, he held the top position in the Orange Cap standings. Jitesh Sharma and Rajat Patidar both played well and brought the chase close, but both got out in the same over to Prince Yadav. Rajat Patidar scored 27 in 13 balls, while Jitesh Sharma made 23 in 9 balls. The rest was completed by Tim David and Romario Shepherd, as RCB scored 149/5 in 15.1 overs with 29 balls remaining.
With this one-sided victory, RCB reclaimed the top of the table with 8 points in five matches, while LSG faced two consecutive defeats. RCB will play their next match against Delhi Capitals on 18 April, and LSG will face Punjab Kings on 19 April. It will be interesting to see how LSG bounce back after this loss.
