LSG Keep IPL Playoff Hopes Alive As RCB Miss Top Spot

A 20-run final over usually belongs to the batting side in modern T20 cricket. On Wednesday night in Lucknow, it belonged to a spinner with the nerve to say no.

Digvesh Rathi had Romario Shepherd in front of him, 20 runs to defend, and a crowd that knew one clean hit could change everything. He gave away only 10. Lucknow Super Giants beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru by 9 runs, and their IPL 2026 campaign stayed alive, if only through the thin door of net run rate and other results.

For RCB, this was the one that got away. The defending champions had a chance to move to the top of the table. Instead, they left with a bruising reminder that big chases can look possible till the last over, then vanish in 6 balls.

Marsh turns Lucknow’s night

Lucknow’s innings had one clear centre: Mitchell Marsh. He opened with Arshin Kulkarni and gave LSG the one thing every struggling side craves, a clean start.

The pair added 95 for the first wicket. Kulkarni made only 17 from 24 balls, but his job was clear. He held one end while Marsh ripped into RCB’s attack.

Marsh finished with 111 from 56 balls, with 9 fours and 9 sixes. That is not just a century. That is a proper T20 beating, the kind that makes bowlers change plans every over.

He did not build this knock like a slow Test hundred in coloured clothes. He attacked early, kept clearing the rope, and made RCB chase the game long before they chased the target.

Nicholas Pooran then did what he often does. He did not waste time. His 38 from 23 balls gave Lucknow the push they needed after the opening stand.

Then came Rishabh Pant’s small but sharp cameo. He smashed 32 not out from 10 balls, with 4 fours and 2 sixes. A strike rate of 320 in the death overs can bend a match.

LSG ended on 209 for 3 in 19 overs. Because rain had shortened the match, RCB’s revised target under the DLS method became 213. In simple terms, the formula adjusts targets when overs reduce. It usually rewards the side that has wickets in hand.

RCB needed 213 from 19 overs. In IPL language, that is tough, but not mad.

RCB’s chase starts badly

RCB’s chase cracked almost immediately. Mohammed Shami removed Jacob Bethell for 4 in the first over. That gave Lucknow early control and a quieter field.

Then Prince Yadav struck in the second over. He dismissed Virat Kohli for a duck. No scoreboard pressure hurts quite like losing Kohli without a run.

At 2 early wickets down, RCB were not just behind the asking rate. They had lost their most experienced chase manager and their opening rhythm.

Devdutt Padikkal and captain Rajat Patidar then rebuilt the innings. This was the sensible phase of the chase. They did not panic. They picked gaps, punished loose balls, and kept RCB breathing.

Their 95-run stand from 53 balls dragged the match back into balance. For a while, Lucknow looked nervous. RCB had found shape after a poor start.

Patidar played the captain’s innings RCB needed. He made 61 from 31 balls, full of clean timing and intent. That knock kept the chase alive after the early damage.

Padikkal made 35 from 25 balls. It was not explosive, but it gave RCB a platform. In a 213 chase, though, platforms need finishers.

Prince Yadav changes the chase

The 11th over turned the match again. Prince Yadav came back and removed Padikkal, who had started to look settled.

In the same over, he also dismissed Jitesh Sharma. Two wickets in one over can do strange things to a dressing room. It changes the noise, the body language, and the maths.

Prince finished with 3 wickets, the best return for Lucknow. In a match remembered for Marsh’s hundred, his spell carried equal weight.

That is the thing about high-scoring T20 games. A bowler does not need a miserly economy rate to win it. He needs wickets at the right time.

Shahbaz Ahmed then added the pressure. He removed Patidar for 61, which was the biggest blow of the chase. Later, he got Tim David too.

David’s 40 from 17 balls had brought RCB back into the game. He is exactly the kind of batter who makes captains delay celebrations. He can ruin tidy bowling figures in 2 overs.

Once Shahbaz got him, Lucknow could sense the match shifting. Not finished, but shifting. In T20 cricket, that difference matters.

RCB still had Krunal Pandya and Romario Shepherd. Krunal made 28 from 16 balls. Shepherd made 23 from 15. They took the match deep enough to worry every Lucknow fan in the ground.

Pant’s gamble pays off

The last over had 20 runs written on it. That is a lot, but with Shepherd at the crease, it was not safe. One six and one four could have brought panic.

Pant chose Rathi for the final over. That was a brave call. Many captains prefer pace at the death because it feels safer. But pace also travels faster when batters connect.

Rathi had to bowl with a clear head. He had to deny the big arc. He had to make Shepherd hit where Lucknow had protection.

He gave away only 10 runs. That final over sealed a 9-run win and kept LSG in the playoff race.

The decision also said something about Pant’s captaincy. He trusted the bowler for the situation, not the reputation of the batter. That is easy to discuss later. It is hard to do with the match on the line.

For RCB, the loss hurts beyond the 2 points. They missed the chance to go number 1. More seriously, they let a chase remain alive without quite controlling it.

Their bowling also left them with questions. Josh Hazlewood, Krunal Pandya and Rasikh Salam took 1 wicket each. But they could not stop Marsh from turning the innings into a statement.

Playoff race gets tighter

LSG are still alive, but not comfortable. This win keeps their campaign moving through ifs and buts. They now need results elsewhere to go their way.

Still, teams in May do not ask for beauty. They ask for points. Lucknow got them against the defending champions, and that matters.

Marsh’s 111 will dominate the highlights. Fair enough. A 56-ball century in a shortened match deserves attention.

But the fuller story belongs to three moments. Shami’s early strike, Prince’s double blow, and Rathi’s final over. That is how a 209 for 3 became a win instead of a nearly-good effort.

For ordinary fans, this is why the IPL refuses to settle into simple logic. One side can lose Kohli early, still almost chase 213. Another can score 209, still need a spinner to defend 20 at midnight.

Lucknow now live to fight another night. RCB still look dangerous, but this defeat leaves a mark. In a season decided by tiny margins, 9 runs can feel like a warning.