The Royal Challengers Bengaluru continue their top form in IPL 2026, as they defeat the Lucknow Super Giants to shoot to the top of the table. But why did LSG lose to RCB?
The game was Match 23 of IPL 2026, played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The home side won the toss and decided to bowl first. The Super Giants seemed to have gotten off to a decent start, but as soon as the first wicket fell, their innings was brought to a halt.
A combination of slow batting and regular wickets meant that LSG were bowled out for just 146 runs, the lowest total this season so far. In response, RCB chased the total down with about five overs to spare.
Here, we will discuss the three reasons as to why RCB defeated LSG tonight in this match.
Why RCB Defeated LSG Last Night
1) LSG Batting Puts On Brakes
The Lucknow Super Giants, put in to bat first, got off to a steady start to their innings. The opening pair of Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram made 32 runs together in the first four overs. But as soon as Markram departed at the end of the fourth over, the LSG innings came to a screeching halt.
Over the next three, on which two were bowled by Josh Hazelwood, only eight runs were made, while Nicholas Porran was bowled out for one off seven. Captain Rishabh Pant, who came in to bat at No. 3, was taken off the field a couple of balls later after being hit on the elbow.
While the eighth over, bowled by Krunal Pandya, went for 15 runs, the slow-down of the past three overs was something the Lucknow innings never recovered from. Soon after. Marsh, who was the only LSG batter who was looking in some touch, got out for 40 off 32 balls.
And when it seemed the innings would come back on track, yet another spell of slow overs was to come. The spin pair of Suyash Sharma and Krunal Pandya bowled four overs, from 11th to 15th, in which they conceded only 30 runs and took a wicket.
But it was the pace bowlers in the death overs who stopped the Super Giants’ score where it ended up. In the final four overs, five wickets fell, and only 28 runs were made.
2) A Complete Performance By The RCB Pace Attack
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru pace attack had one of the most complete performances seen in IPL 2026. While the spinners still had a decent night on the job, the fast bowlers were quite dominant.
Rasikh Salam opened the wickets column for tonight, dismissing Aidem Markram in the fourth over. The very next over, bowled by Josh Hazelwood, saw him concede just one run and forced Pant to be retired out.
Hazelwood would get his first wicket right after the powerplay after a display of quick and accurate bowling in his previous overs, as he got rid of Nicholas Pooran for just one run.
After Ayush Badoni and Mukul Choudhary formed a decent partnership, Rasikh came in as the partnership-breaker, dismissing Badoni for 38 off 24 in the 16th over. Rasikh Salam would take two more wickets in this game, getting out Mukul Choudhary for 39 off 28 and Avesh Khan for just a single run. He ended the match with fantastic figures of 4/24 in four overs.
After Rishabh Pant returned to the crease, he was dismissed cheaply by Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Bhuvi also dismissed George Linde and Mohammed Shami in the death overs and ended his night with a four-over spell of 3/27.
Hazelwood, who was arguably RCB’s best bowler in this match, just got the one wicket of Pooran but was economical throughout. His four-over spell ended with the figures of 1/20. For his excellent spell, he was named the Player of the Match.
1) A Focused Chase
The first innings would make some believe that this was quite a tricky batting pitch. But the Royal Challengers’ batting dissuaded this notion. While opener Phil Salt was dismissed in the second over for seven off eight, Virat Kohli on the other end made sure that another wicket would not fall in the powerplay.
RCB’s total at the six-over mark was 60/1. Kohli got off to a flying start, as he played at 40 off 20 at this point. After this point, while other batters took charge of hitting boundaries, the veteran slowed down.
Devdutt Padikkal was out for 10 off 11 in the eighth over, and Kohli departed for 49 off 34 in the 11th over. But the score is 86/3 with about 10 overs remaining; the chase for the middle order was going to be a breeze.
Despite the required run rate being around six, none of the middle-order players played slow or measured innings. Instead, all of them kept swinging. Captain Rajat Patidar made 27 off 13 before his wicket, while Jitesh Sharma made 23 off nine before his wicket.
The game was finished by Tim David and Romario Shepherd, who both ended the match at 14 runs off eight balls as the Royal Challengers Bengaluru won this match by five wickets with 29 balls to spare.
Check Out: Why RCB Defeated LSG Tonight
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