Marsh century keeps LSG alive with 9-run win over RCB

A 20-run final over can make even calm people check their pulse twice. In Lucknow, it kept a season alive.

Luxury? Actually no. Lucknow Super Giants had no room for soft cricket. They had to beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the defending champions, and then hope the table still smiled at them.

They did their part. LSG beat RCB by 9 runs in a rain-hit 19-over match, after Mitchell Marsh smashed 111 off 56 balls and Prince Yadav broke Bengaluru’s chase open.

Marsh turns pressure into power

Marsh played the sort of innings that changes the dressing-room temperature.

LSG made 209 for 3 in 19 overs. Because of the rain and the Duckworth-Lewis calculation, RCB had to chase 213. That is a tall ask even on a good batting pitch.

Marsh gave Lucknow the start they badly needed. He and Arshin Kulkarni put on 95 for the first wicket. Kulkarni made 17 off 24, which looks slow on paper, but the stand gave Marsh room to explode.

Once Marsh found his rhythm, the bowling disappeared to all parts. His 111 came with 9 fours and 9 sixes. That is not just a century. That is a proper statement innings.

Nicholas Pooran then added 38 off 23 balls. Rishabh Pant closed the innings with a sharp unbeaten 32 off 10 balls. He hit 4 fours and 2 sixes, scoring at a strike rate of 320.

That late burst mattered. In T20 cricket, 15 extra runs at the end often decide the match. Here, Lucknow won by 9.

RCB’s chase begins badly

RCB’s target was 213 in 19 overs. On paper, their batting had enough muscle.

But a chase like that needs a clean first 3 overs. Bengaluru got the opposite.

Mohammed Shami struck in the first over, removing Jacob Bethell for 4. Then Prince Yadav landed the heavier punch. He dismissed Virat Kohli for a duck in the second over.

That wicket changed the mood. Kohli’s early exit does not only affect the scoreboard. It changes how the dugout reads the chase.

RCB were suddenly chasing more than runs. They were chasing calm.

Devdutt Padikkal and captain Rajat Patidar did well to stop the slide. They added 95 runs off 53 balls for the third wicket. That partnership gave RCB a real path back.

Padikkal made 35 off 25. Patidar looked even better, hitting 61 off 31 balls. His innings had control, speed, and timing.

For a while, Bengaluru looked ready to pull off another champion’s chase.

Prince Yadav breaks the rhythm

Prince Yadav’s spell was the turning point.

He had already removed Kohli early. Then he returned in the 11th over and hit RCB twice. First came Padikkal. Then came Jitesh Sharma.

That over damaged RCB’s chase in two ways. It removed a set batter and stopped the next man from settling.

T20 chases often turn on these small windows. One over can cost only a few runs, yet change the whole route to victory.

Prince finished as Lucknow’s best wicket-taker with 3 wickets. Shami took 1, but his first-over strike gave LSG the first bite.

Shahbaz Ahmed also did a quiet, valuable job. He removed Patidar after the RCB captain’s 61. Then he dismissed Tim David, who had raced to 40 off 17 balls.

That Tim David wicket was huge. He is exactly the kind of batter who can make 40 runs look like 20. Once he left, RCB still had hitters, but less control.

Pant’s brave final-over call

The match still had one final twist.

Krunal Pandya made 28 off 16 balls. Romario Shepherd made 23 off 15. Together, they dragged RCB back into the contest when Lucknow seemed ahead.

RCB needed 20 from the last over. In modern T20 cricket, that is difficult, not impossible.

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

That decision carried risk. Shepherd can hit pace and spin hard. Krunal also knows how to target short boundaries and tired bowlers.

Rathi did not blink. He gave away only 10 runs in the final over. LSG closed the match by 9 runs and kept their playoff hopes alive.

For Pant, that over will matter beyond the 2 points. Captains build trust with these calls. Bowlers grow when they see that trust under pressure.

For RCB, the defeat hurts for another reason. They missed a chance to go to number one. In a tight league, such chances do not keep coming politely.

Playoff race gets tighter

This win does not magically solve Lucknow’s season. Their playoff hopes still depend on results, net run rate, and the usual late-season arithmetic.

But it keeps them alive. That phrase sounds simple, but every IPL team understands its weight.

Once a side stays in the race, pressure shifts. Opponents know one more upset can disturb the table. Fans start doing calculations again. Players start believing one good week can change everything.

For RCB, this was a reminder that defending champions still have to defend every over. Their batting recovered well after early damage, but the chase lost shape at key moments.

Kohli’s duck hurt. Patidar’s wicket hurt more. Tim David’s dismissal hurt the most because it came when the finish was still within reach.

Lucknow will take the win, but they will also know the warning signs. Their batting clicked, yet they still needed a tight final over. Against stronger finishing sides, that gap can punish them.

Still, nights like these give a team fresh oxygen. Marsh gave Lucknow the runs. Prince gave them the breakthroughs. Pant gave Rathi the final responsibility. Rathi gave him the answer.

For fans, that is the beauty and cruelty of the IPL. One over can lift a season. One dropped chance can bend a table. And for ordinary viewers watching after a long workday, this is why the league still hooks people. Until the maths says no, hope keeps batting.