Marsh Century Keeps LSG Alive As RCB Miss Top Spot

One over, 20 runs, one dangerous hitter, and one captain willing to trust a spinner under fire. That was the whole match in Lucknow.

Lucknow Super Giants beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru by 9 runs in a rain-shortened IPL 2026 contest that felt bigger than one league result. LSG stayed alive, even if only through the familiar IPL maze of net run rates and other teams’ results.

For RCB, the damage was sharper. The defending champions had a chance to push for No. 1. Instead, they ran into Mitchell Marsh’s bat, Prince Yadav’s nerve, and Digvesh Rathi’s cold final over.

Marsh turns Lucknow into a launchpad

Mitchell Marsh gave LSG the kind of innings teams remember when seasons turn. He smashed 111 off 56 balls, with 9 fours and 9 sixes, and turned a tricky 19-over game into a batting exhibition.

This was not just clean hitting. It was a reminder of why top-order power matters so much in the IPL. When an opener bats deep at that speed, the middle order can attack without doing the maths every ball.

Arshin Kulkarni played the quieter hand at the other end. His 17 off 24 balls will not trend on social media. But the opening stand of 95 gave Marsh the room to settle, then explode.

Nicholas Pooran added 38 off 23 balls, with 4 fours and a six. Then Rishabh Pant did what Pant does. He made 32 not out from 10 balls, striking at 320, and lifted LSG to 209 for 3 in 19 overs.

Those 19 overs mattered. Rain had trimmed the match, and the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method pushed RCB’s target to 213. In simple terms, DLS adjusts the chase because losing overs changes how teams can use wickets and risk.

RCB’s chase wobbles early

A target above 210 in 19 overs leaves no space for a sleepy start. RCB got the opposite of what they needed.

Mohammed Shami removed Jacob Bethell for 4 in the first over. Prince Yadav then sent Virat Kohli back for a duck in the second. In a chase this steep, two early wickets are not just dismissals. They change the dressing room’s breathing.

Rajat Patidar and Devdutt Padikkal repaired the innings with real quality. Their 95-run stand off 53 balls brought RCB back from the edge. It also showed why this RCB side has carried champion weight this season.

Patidar was the more fluent player. His 61 off 31 balls gave RCB rhythm, and Padikkal’s 35 off 25 kept the chase from collapsing. For a while, it felt like RCB had absorbed the early shock.

Then Prince returned and cut the partnership open. He dismissed Padikkal in the 11th over and also removed Jitesh Sharma in the same burst. That over did not finish the match, but it changed its shape.

Prince Yadav bends the match

Prince Yadav finished with 3 wickets, and each one carried weight. He did not clean up tailenders after the hard work was done. He hit RCB when they were still forming their chase.

The wicket of Kohli gave LSG belief. The wicket of Padikkal broke a set pair. The wicket of Jitesh kept RCB from adding another layer of hitting in the middle overs.

Shahbaz Ahmed then played his part with the ball. He dismissed Patidar for 61 and later removed Tim David for 40 off 17 balls. That David wicket mattered hugely, because he had started to turn the match into a hitting contest.

RCB still refused to go quietly. Krunal Pandya made 28 off 16, while Romario Shepherd scored 23 off 15. They dragged the chase into the final over, which is all a chasing side can ask after losing early wickets.

But LSG had squeezed just enough. The asking rate kept rising, and every dot ball felt like a small punch.

Pant’s final-over call pays off

Captains often get judged by decisions that look simple only after they work. Pant’s call to give the final over to Digvesh Rathi was one of those.

RCB needed 20 from the last over. Shepherd was at the crease, and everyone knows what he can do when the ball lands in his hitting zone. A mistimed plan there can vanish into the stands.

Pant still backed Rathi. The spinner gave away only 10 runs and closed the game with surprising calm. For a young or lesser-used bowler, that over can define reputation inside a squad.

This is where IPL cricket becomes more than numbers. A captain’s trust travels quickly in a dressing room. So does doubt. Pant chose trust, and Rathi gave him a result.

For LSG, the win keeps the season alive in the “if this, then that” zone. That is not comfort, but it is still oxygen. In the IPL, teams have made late charges from worse places.

RCB miss a clean chance

RCB will look at this match and know exactly where it slipped. They conceded 209 in 19 overs, lost both openers early, then still came close enough to feel the sting.

Patidar’s 61 and David’s 40 gave them a proper chance. Krunal and Shepherd made the finish tense. But in a chase of 213, cameos have to join hands. One broken link can undo the whole chain.

For RCB supporters, the worry is not one defeat. Good teams lose. The concern is timing. A chance to strengthen the push for top spot came and went.

For LSG supporters, the result offers something rarer than points. It offers belief. Marsh has found a towering innings, Prince has delivered under pressure, and Pant has shown he will make brave calls.

That is how IPL seasons turn, not always with a grand speech, but with one over held together under lights. LSG still need results to fall their way. But after this 9-run win, they can at least look at the table and say the door has not shut yet.