Marsh ton keeps LSG playoff hopes alive over RCB

Twenty runs in the final over can look small in T20 cricket now. On Wednesday night, it looked like a mountain.

Digvesh Rathi had the ball. Romario Shepherd had the bat. Lucknow Super Giants had their season hanging by a thread.

Six balls later, Lucknow were still breathing. Rathi gave away only 10 runs, LSG beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru by 9 runs, and the IPL table suddenly had fresh drama.

Marsh gives Lucknow real oxygen

This was not just another high-scoring IPL night. It was a survival game for Lucknow.

They needed a win to keep their playoff hopes alive. They also needed someone to bat like the season mattered. Mitchell Marsh did exactly that.

Marsh smashed 111 from 56 balls, with 9 fours and 9 sixes. That is not just power hitting. That is clean, organised damage.

He began with Arshin Kulkarni, and the pair added 95 for the first wicket. Kulkarni made 17 from 24 balls, which looks slow on paper. But his stay allowed Marsh to attack without worrying about a collapse.

Marsh’s hundred gave Lucknow control. Nicholas Pooran then added 38 from 23 balls. Rishabh Pant finished the innings with a sharp unbeaten 32 from 10 balls.

By the time Lucknow reached 209 for 3 in 19 overs, RCB already knew this chase would hurt.

Rain changes the chase

Rain had trimmed the match to 19 overs a side. Under the Duckworth-Lewis method, RCB’s target moved to 213.

That may sound odd to casual fans. In simple terms, the system adjusts the target when rain reduces overs. It tries to balance the match fairly.

For RCB, that meant almost everything had to go right. Instead, the first two overs went badly wrong.

Mohammed Shami removed Jacob Bethell for 4 in the opening over. Then Prince Yadav struck in the second over and sent Virat Kohli back for 0.

In a normal chase, losing one opener early hurts. Losing both, while chasing 213 in 19 overs, changes the whole mood.

Suddenly, the defending champions were not chasing a target. They were chasing the game itself.

Patidar keeps RCB alive

RCB still had Rajat Patidar, and he played like a captain who understood the moment.

Patidar and Devdutt Padikkal rebuilt the innings with a 95-run stand from 53 balls. That partnership gave RCB shape after the early shock.

Padikkal made 35 from 25 balls. Patidar went harder and reached 61 from 31 balls. His innings kept RCB close enough to believe.

But Prince Yadav returned at a decisive time. In the 11th over, he dismissed Padikkal and Jitesh Sharma. That over cut through RCB’s middle.

For a young bowler, that spell mattered. Prince finished with 3 wickets, and each one changed the chase.

Shahbaz Ahmed then removed Patidar and Tim David. David had made 40 from 17 balls, and his wicket felt huge.

RCB still had Krunal Pandya and Romario Shepherd. With those two, no IPL match truly feels over.

Pant backs the brave call

The last over needed 20. In modern T20 cricket, that is not impossible.

Krunal had 28 from 16 balls. Shepherd had 23 from 15 balls. Both could clear the rope.

This is where Rishabh Pant’s captaincy came into sharp focus. He gave the final over to Rathi, a spinner, with the match on the line.

Many captains prefer pace in that situation. Pace gives yorkers, slower balls, and bounce. But it also gives batters speed to use.

Pant trusted Rathi’s control instead. Against Shepherd, that was a brave call.

Rathi did not search for magic. He kept the over tight enough, denied the clean strike, and allowed only 10 runs.

That final over told you something about Lucknow’s dressing room. They still have nerve. They still have belief. And they still have players ready for ugly, pressure-heavy jobs.

RCB miss a big chance

For RCB, this defeat stings beyond the 9-run margin.

They had a chance to move to the top of the table. Instead, the defending champions left Lucknow with questions.

Their bowling gave away 209 in 19 overs. Their chase lost Kohli for 0. Their middle order fought back, but not enough.

Josh Hazlewood, Krunal Pandya, and Rasikh Salam took 1 wicket each. But Lucknow’s batting never looked trapped for long.

RCB will not panic from one defeat. A side that has already won a title knows bad nights happen. Still, this was a match they could have controlled better.

For Lucknow, the equation remains full of ifs and buts. They need other results to fall kindly. They also need to keep winning.

That is the brutal thing about the IPL. One night can revive you, but it rarely saves you completely.

Lucknow’s win gives their fans one more reason to check the points table with hope. RCB’s loss reminds everyone that even champions can blink under pressure. With the playoffs near, small moments now carry heavy weight. One final over, one brave call, one mistimed hit, that can decide a season.