IPL 2026: LSG no match to RCB's all-round show as Bengaluru register comfortable five-wicket win

Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeated Lucknow Super Giants by five wickets at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The Rishabh Pant-led side showed little intent with the bat and that arguably sealed their fate. Opener Aiden Markram made just 12 runs, while Rishabh Pant and Nicholas Pooran made one each. Towards the back end, Ayush Badoni and Mukul Choudhary made 38 and 39 runs, respectively, as LSG posted a modest 146 runs on board.

For Bengaluru, Rasikh Salam Dar stole the show, claiming four wickets. Bhuvneshwar Kumar too had a gun day, picking up three wickets, while Krunal Pandya finished with two. Josh Hazlewood, who made his return to the playing XI, replacing Jacob Duffy, was fantastic too, particularly in the powerplay. Courtesy of their wrath, Bengaluru produced a dominant show in the first innings. 

Star batter Virat Kohli played as an Impact Player in the clash against LSG. In the previous match against



MI, the 37-year-old suffered a knee injury and for the same reason, the team management didn’t want to risk him in the field. He arrived with the bat in the second innings and dominated the proceedings in the powerplay, before departing for 49 runs off 34 balls. After he walked back, Patidar and Jitesh Sharma continued with the destruction.

Patidar made 27 runs off 13 balls, while Jitesh made 23 off nine. Towards the end, Tim David and Romario Shepherd got the job done as RCB won the match with 29 balls remaining. For Lucknow, Prince Yadav once again rose to the occasion, claiming three wickets, while Avesh Khan picked two. They had plenty of expectations of Digvesh Rathi this season, but the spinner is yet to arrive at the party. 

Meanwhile, with the win, RCB have moved to the top of the points table. LSG, on the other hand, are currently seventh, ahead of CSK, MI and KKR.