RCB demolish LSG in 15 overs: Kohli, Rasikh star in one-sided Chinnaswamy rout

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) defeated Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by five wickets in Match 23 of the TATA Indian Premier League 2026 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday, April 15. Royal Challengers Bengaluru chased down a target of 147 runs in 15.1 overs, with 29 balls to spare, after their bowlers had restricted Lucknow Super Giants to 146 all out in 20 overs in a performance that reinforced the home side’s standing as one of the most complete teams in the competition.

Why did RCB captain Rajat Patidar choose to bowl first against Lucknow Super Giants at Chinnaswamy in IPL 2026?

Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Rajat Patidar elected to bowl first after winning the toss, a decision that reflected the confidence placed in a bowling attack featuring Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and the young fast bowler Rasikh Salam Dar. The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, situated in Bengaluru at approximately 900 metres above sea level, is widely regarded as one of the most batter-friendly venues in the Indian Premier League. Short square boundaries and the thin air at altitude combine to extend the carry of the ball, making every delivery to the short side a scoring opportunity. Patidar’s decision to insert a Lucknow Super Giants batting lineup that included the experienced Mitchell Marsh, the West Indian power hitter Nicholas Pooran, and the aggressive Rishabh Pant was a calculated gamble that required his bowlers to execute with discipline on a surface that rarely assists pace or spin.

How did Rishabh Pant’s injury during the powerplay affect Lucknow Super Giants’ batting innings in Match 23?

Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hazlewood opened the bowling and applied pressure from the outset. Lucknow Super Giants openers Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh found scoring opportunities difficult to come by, despite Marsh connecting with a six measuring 102 metres over deep mid-wicket. The powerplay was defined most significantly not by a wicket or a boundary but by the injury sustained by Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant, who was struck on the elbow by a delivery from Hazlewood and was forced to retire hurt. Pant’s early departure from the crease removed the most experienced and dynamic batting presence in the Lucknow Super Giants lineup at the moment their innings most needed stability.

How Rasikh Salam Dar’s career-best spell dismantled Lucknow Super Giants’ top and middle order at Bengaluru

Rasikh Salam Dar removed Aiden Markram to leave Lucknow Super Giants at 35 for one wicket at the end of the powerplay, which represented their lowest powerplay score of the 2026 Indian Premier League season. Hazlewood then dismissed Nicholas Pooran off the very next delivery to further tighten Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s grip. The consecutive dismissals of Markram and Pooran left Lucknow Super Giants without two of their most trusted middle-order contributors and significantly reduced their capacity for acceleration in the overs that followed. Mitchell Marsh continued to resist but was dismissed for 40 off 32 balls when Krunal Pandya bowled him with a quicker delivery. Krunal Pandya then removed Abdul Samad in quick succession. The dismissal of Samad marked Krunal Pandya’s 100th wicket in the Indian Premier League, a milestone achieved in front of the home crowd at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Did Ayush Badoni and Mukul Choudhary’s partnership give Lucknow Super Giants a realistic chance of posting a competitive total?

Ayush Badoni, scoring 38 off 24 balls, and Mukul Choudhary, scoring 39 off 28 balls, formed a partnership that briefly gave Lucknow Super Giants a foothold in the middle overs. Their stand, built on inventive strokeplay, pushed Lucknow Super Giants past 100 runs and briefly raised the prospect of a competitive total. Rishabh Pant returned to bat in the 16th over despite the elbow injury sustained during the powerplay, a decision that spoke to both his personal commitment and the limited batting depth available to Lucknow Super Giants at that stage of the innings. Pant lasted only three deliveries before being caught by Phil Salt off Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Bhuvneshwar Kumar then dismissed Mohammed Shami with a yorker to further reduce Lucknow Super Giants.

Rasikh Salam Dar returned for his final spell and dismissed the set Badoni before coming back in the 20th over to clean up both Mukul Choudhary and Avesh Khan in the same over. Rasikh Salam Dar finished with career-best figures of four wickets for 24 runs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar returned three wickets for 27 runs and Krunal Pandya took two wickets for 38 runs. Lucknow Super Giants were dismissed for 146, which was recorded as the lowest total by any team batting their full 20 overs in the 2026 Indian Premier League season.

How did Virat Kohli’s impact substitute knock set up RCB’s chase of 147 against Lucknow Super Giants?

Chasing 147, Phil Salt was dismissed early in the Royal Challengers Bengaluru innings by Prince Yadav. Virat Kohli then entered the match as an Impact Substitute. The Impact Substitute provision in the Indian Premier League allows a team to replace one player with a substitute at any point after the toss, and Royal Challengers Bengaluru deployed Kohli in this role to maximise their batting firepower in the chase. Kohli struck 49 off 34 balls. By the end of the powerplay, Kohli had scored 40 not out off just 20 deliveries, taking Royal Challengers Bengaluru to 60 for one wicket in six overs and effectively removing any meaningful pressure from the required run rate at an early stage of the chase.

How Rajat Patidar and Jitesh Sharma accelerated Royal Challengers Bengaluru to victory over LSG at Chinnaswamy

Devdutt Padikkal was dismissed for 10 before Kohli also departed, one run short of a half-century. However, Rajat Patidar struck 27 off 13 balls and Jitesh Sharma applied finishing acceleration, scoring 23 off nine balls including two boundaries and two sixes in a single over against Digvesh Singh Rathi. Prince Yadav dismissed both Jitesh Sharma and Patidar in a single over, but by that stage the match was settled beyond any realistic doubt. Tim David and Romario Shepherd completed the chase without further difficulty. Royal Challengers Bengaluru reached 149 for five wickets in 15.1 overs to win by five wickets, with 29 balls remaining.

What does RCB’s five-wicket win over LSG at Chinnaswamy mean for the IPL 2026 points table and title race?

The victory returned Royal Challengers Bengaluru to the top of the 2026 Indian Premier League points table. Royal Challengers Bengaluru hold eight points from five matches with a net run rate of positive 1.503, and are the defending Indian Premier League champions having won the title in 2025. Lucknow Super Giants dropped to eighth position on the points table following the defeat, with a net run rate of negative 0.804. The result extended Lucknow Super Giants’ difficulties with batting consistency in the 2026 season and left unresolved questions around the fitness and availability of captain Rishabh Pant for upcoming fixtures.

• Royal Challengers Bengaluru returned to the top of the 2026 Indian Premier League points table with eight points from five matches and a net run rate of positive 1.503 following the five-wicket victory over Lucknow Super Giants at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on April 15.
• Rasikh Salam Dar’s career-best figures of four wickets for 24 runs were the standout individual bowling performance of the match and contributed to Lucknow Super Giants being dismissed for 146, the lowest total recorded by any team batting their full 20 overs in the 2026 Indian Premier League season.
• Lucknow Super Giants captain Rishabh Pant retired hurt after being struck on the elbow by a Josh Hazlewood delivery during the powerplay and returned to bat later but lasted only three deliveries, raising concerns about his fitness ahead of upcoming Lucknow Super Giants fixtures.
• Virat Kohli, entering as an Impact Substitute, scored 49 off 34 balls and reached 40 not out off 20 deliveries at the end of the powerplay, providing Royal Challengers Bengaluru with the platform that made the 147-run chase a largely uncontested exercise.
• Krunal Pandya reached the milestone of 100 Indian Premier League wickets during the match, becoming one of the few all-rounders to reach the landmark in the competition.