RCB overpowers LSG with pace bowling and a brilliant fielding effort
LSG – 146 (Rasikh Salam 24/4) lost to RCB – 149/5 in 15.1 overs (Virat Kohli 49) by 5 wickets
Man of the Match: Josh Hazlewood
The 23rd match of IPL 2026 between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) showed the disparity in the two teams’ quality, even though only two points had separated them before the match. RCB boasted of an explosive batting lineup backed by decent bowling. On the other hand, LSG’s batting is very top-heavy, comprising batsmen out of form, which immediately puts their bowling unit under pressure. RCB won the toss and from the very first over exerted tremendous pressure on LSG and never let go.
Pace bowlers overwhelm LSG batting
Bhuvneshwar opened the bowling and got enough swing to keep the batsmen quiet. He induced an edge off Mitchell Marsh off the second ball, which just about evaded first slip and went to the boundary for four. With Hazlewood bowling hard lengths, seaming the ball and not giving the batsmen room to free their arms, the next boundary came only on the last ball of the third over, when Marsh latched on to a short ball and absolutely whacked it out of the stadium. The next bowler to be introduced was Rasikh Salam from Jammu and Kashmir, known for his slower balls. His third ball was hit with much more grace by Markram, and it sailed easily over long on. But Markram got out three balls later in the most bizarre fashion in the same over. A normal pace ball was bowled full on the leg side, which he tried to glance, but got a leading edge and somehow managed to get caught at cover, exactly opposite the direction of the intended target.
The next over was a masterclass by Hazlewood on how to bowl a T20 over. Most bowlers disguise their slower deliveries. Hazlewood, however, does the opposite and disguises his normal delivery. He comes in with the grip of a knuckle ball and then bowls at his normal pace of around 140 kmph. Pant was bamboozled for a stretch of 3 balls, during which he struggled to touch the ball. The first ball was a swing and miss, the next hit him near his stomach, and the third hit him flush on the elbow. Pant was clearly hurt and wanted to carry on, but better sense prevailed, and Pooran was the next man in as Pant retired hurt.
Pooran managed to face Hazlewood’s two remaining balls of the over without any incident or runs. But Hazlewood was not to be denied. He returned for his third over and immediately had Pooran inside edging to his stumps, leaving LSG in disarray. The powerplay score was 35, and the 5th and 6th overs conceded a total of 3 runs. Pooran has been in horrible form, without runs and confidence, this IPL. In fact, his poor form has persisted long before the IPL started, and the team may have to take hard decisions regarding the batting composition in the next few matches.
Spinners come on, but LSG struggles to break free
The spinners had to be brought next, and LSG might have entertained some thought of upping the run rate, which had been anaemic so far. In fact, Marsh started to get some momentum in Krunal’s first over and took 15 runs off it. In Krunal’s next over, a typical bouncer was pulled handsomely over long leg. But Krunal had his bag of tricks and an extravagant round arm delivery, bent legs and all, got Marsh playing on to his stumps for a 40 off 32 balls. Next, Abdul Samad got a leading edge to a leg stump delivery from Krunal and was caught by the cover fielder. In between, Badoni played some delightful shots behind the wicket for fours near the backward point region. He and Mukul Choudhary got a mini partnership going at a respectable rate. But he tried to cut a Rasikh pace off a shorter ball, but just managed an edge and was caught behind by the keeper. He had scored 38 off 24 balls, and LSG were 118/5 after 16 overs.
Pacers come back to finish the job
The RCB pacers had done well in the initial overs, and they were always going to complete their quota. Pant came back at the fall of Badoni’s wicket and did not look too comfortable. He was dropped by Suyash off Bhuvneshwar at short third, but swept a low full toss towards deep square leg where Phil Salt too a brilliant catch running towards the ball. In his next over, Linde hit a short ball high in the air towards deep backward point, and Tim David took an equally impressive catch running with the ball coming over his shoulder and made it look outlandishly easy. Mukul Choudhary tried his best with 39 off 28 balls, but he was fighting a lone battle. The tailenders were no match for the accurate yorkers of Bhuvneshwar and Rasikh, and the innings folded at 146. Bhuvneshwar finished at 27/3 and Rasikh an impressive 24/4. Hazlewood ended with 20/1, but was arguably the best bowler of the lot.
Kohli takes over
A total of 146 was never going to trouble RCB. To make a match of it, LSG needed early wickets and lots of them. Phil Salt and Padikkal were dismissed early enough, as the LSG pacers bowled with a lot of heart.
He was at his sublime best as he cover drove and pulled with abandon. He used his feet to the spinners and when Digvesh Rathi bowled short, held his shape and pulled over deep midwicket for a handsome six. Patidar soon joined Kohli and hit successive sixes against Sami. By the time Kohli was caught at long on off Avesh to an entertaining 49 off 34 balls, RCB’s score was 86/3, and the asking rate was only around a run a ball. There had been some chatter regarding Kohli’s low strike rate in the last match, and he started playing more freely. His powerplay strike rate was 200, and he only slowed down after the fall of Padikkal’s wicket.
Jitesh Sharma was the next man in and took Digvesh Rathi to the cleaners. The twelfth over went for 23 runs, with Sharma’s two sixers over extra cover the highlights.
Prince Yadav bowled the 13th over and got rid of both Jitesh Sharma and Patidar to make the match a bit more interesting. Patidar went for 27 off 13 balls, and Jitesh 23 off 9 balls. Both these destructive cameos ensured that the asking run rate was never a problem for RCB.
LSG falters on the field
By the end of the 13th over, RCB were at 123/5, and 24 was still required off 42 balls. Tim David and Romario Shepherd, two of the biggest hitters in the world, played responsibly enough and finished at 14 off 8 balls each to ensure no more hiccups. The target was achieved in 15.1 overs and pushed RCB’s net run rate so that they became the current table toppers in the tournament.
Other than the batting and bowling performance, RCB had outplayed LSG in the fielding department too. RCB had a couple of brilliant catches while fielding, while LSG missed an easy run-out chance in the first over after a terrible mix-up between Salt and Kohli. Ground fielding was generally poor, and it culminated when Samad took a running catch off a Tim David mishit at the boundary and tried to relay the ball to Markram, before going over the boundary due to the momentum. The throw was too hard, and Markram was unable to reach it, and another opportunity was missed. While the lack of desperation and intensity on the field could partially be attributed to their limp batting display earlier, LSG would do well to ensure that it is not repeated, as they are going to need all the help on the field if they hope to go higher up the table in this year’s IPL.