LSG beat RCB by 9 runs to keep IPL playoff hopes alive

Rain shortened the match, but it did not shorten the drama. Lucknow Super Giants beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru by 9 runs in a 19-over IPL match that swung hard, late, and loudly.

For LSG, this was not just another home win. It kept their playoff hopes alive, even if the maths still needs kindness from other results.

For defending champions RCB, the defeat hurt twice. They lost the match, and with it, a chance to climb to No. 1.

Marsh sets up Lucknow’s charge

Mitchell Marsh played the innings that gave Lucknow belief before the bowlers entered the story.

Opening with Arshin Kulkarni, Marsh gave LSG a powerful start. The pair added 95 for the first wicket, which gave the innings a calm base before the hitting storm arrived.

Kulkarni made 17 from 24 balls. That looks slow in a T20 scorecard, but it allowed Marsh to take charge without early panic.

Marsh then turned the evening into his own show. He made 111 from 56 balls, with 9 fours and 9 sixes. That is not just a century. That is a proper IPL statement.

He did not merely clear the rope. He kept finding the right ball to attack. That matters in a rain-hit match, where every over carries extra weight.

Nicholas Pooran added 38 from 23 balls, giving Lucknow the middle-overs push they needed. Then came Rishabh Pant, who finished like a man in a hurry.

Pant stayed unbeaten on 32 from 10 balls, hitting 4 fours and 2 sixes. His strike rate touched 320, and those late runs proved priceless.

LSG reached 209/3 in 19 overs. Because rain had interrupted play, RCB were set 213 under the Duckworth-Lewis method. In simple terms, the revised target accounts for lost overs and available batting resources.

RCB’s chase starts badly

A chase of 213 in 19 overs needs a clean start. RCB got the exact opposite.

Mohammed Shami removed Jacob Bethell for 4 in the first over. That gave Lucknow early oxygen and made RCB’s dugout twitch.

Then Prince Yadav struck in the second over. His wicket was the big one. Virat Kohli went without scoring, and suddenly RCB were in trouble before the chase had properly begun.

In T20 cricket, one early wicket can be repaired. Two in two overs change the mood completely. The asking rate starts to bite, and every quiet over feels larger than it is.

RCB still had enough batting. That is why this chase stayed alive for so long.

Devdutt Padikkal and Rajat Patidar rebuilt the innings with a 95-run stand from 53 balls. It was sensible at first, then increasingly brave.

Padikkal made 35 from 25 balls. Patidar, leading the side, played the bigger hand with 61 from 31 balls. He gave RCB the tempo they had lost after Kohli’s wicket.

For a while, it looked like RCB had absorbed the shock. That is often the mark of a champion side. They do not need the perfect start to keep fighting.

Prince Yadav changes the game

Prince Yadav’s second spell became the turning point.

He had already removed Kohli. Then, in the 11th over, he returned and broke the Padikkal-Patidar stand by dismissing Padikkal.

In the same over, he also got Jitesh Sharma. That double strike dragged the match back towards Lucknow.

A bowler taking 3 wickets in a high-scoring game always deserves attention. But the timing made Prince’s spell even more valuable. He struck when RCB were rebuilding, not when the game had already drifted.

Shahbaz Ahmed then joined the act. He dismissed Patidar after the RCB captain’s half-century, then removed Tim David for 40 from 17 balls.

David’s wicket was massive. He had started to hit at the exact pace RCB needed. In a chase like this, one more over from him could have changed everything.

Lucknow’s bowling figures tell the story better than a long lecture. Prince took 3 wickets. Shahbaz picked up 2. Shami struck early with 1.

On a night when 400-plus runs were nearly scored, those wickets were gold.

Pant trusts Rathi at the death

The final over needed 20 runs. Romario Shepherd was at the crease. Krunal Pandya was there too. RCB were not favourites, but they were not finished either.

Pant then made the bold call. He gave the ball to Digvesh Rathi.

That is the kind of decision captains are judged on. If it works, people call it brave. If it fails, they ask why a spinner bowled the last over to a dangerous hitter.

Rathi held his nerve. He gave away only 10 runs and closed the match for Lucknow.

Shepherd finished on 23 from 15 balls. Krunal made 28 from 16. Their late fight gave RCB hope, but not enough runs.

RCB ended at 203/6, 9 short of the target. In a game this tight, every dot ball and every mis-hit from earlier suddenly looked expensive.

For Pant, the final-over call will travel well in the dressing room. Captains need players to believe that trust can arrive in difficult moments. Rathi got that trust, and he repaid it.

For RCB, the loss will sting because they did plenty right after a terrible start. Patidar found runs. David threatened. Krunal and Shepherd kept the door open.

But T20 is not kind to almost. RCB missed the No. 1 chance because Lucknow won the smaller moments at the right time.

For LSG, this result keeps the campaign alive, but not comfortable. They still need results, net run rate, and calm heads. Yet for one night in Lucknow, Marsh’s bat, Prince’s spell, and Rathi’s last over gave them something every struggling IPL side needs in May: one more reason to believe.