Marsh ton lifts LSG past RCB in IPL playoff race

A 20-run final over should feel like breathing room. In T20 cricket, it rarely does.

At Lucknow, it became a test of nerve, trust, and one captain’s appetite for risk. Rishabh Pant threw the ball to Digvesh Rathi with Romario Shepherd still alive at the crease. Rathi gave away only 10, and Lucknow Super Giants beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru by 9 runs.

That win kept LSG in the IPL 2026 playoff conversation, though still through a maze of ifs and buts. For RCB, the defeat hurt differently. The defending champions missed a clean chance to push for the No. 1 spot.

Marsh turns Lucknow into theatre

The night belonged first to Mitchell Marsh, who played one of those innings that changes a dressing room’s mood.

Marsh smashed 111 off 56 balls, with 9 fours and 9 sixes. That is not just a hundred. That is a full attack on the bowling, the field settings, and the opposition’s comfort.

LSG opened with Marsh and Arshin Kulkarni. Their 95-run stand gave Lucknow the launchpad every T20 side dreams of. Kulkarni made only 17 from 24 balls, but his presence allowed Marsh to take control.

Once Marsh got going, RCB had very little time to reset. Josh Hazlewood, Krunal Pandya and Rasikh Salam picked up 1 wicket each, but none could slow the main damage.

Nicholas Pooran then added 38 from 23 balls. He did not need a headline role. He only needed to keep the pressure on, and he did that neatly.

Then came Pant’s late burst. He hit 32 not out from 10 balls, with 4 fours and 2 sixes. His strike rate read 320, which is a very polite way of saying he looted the end overs.

Rain reduced the match to 19 overs a side. LSG finished on 209 for 3. Under the Duckworth Lewis method, RCB’s target became 213. In simple terms, rain changed the maths, and Bengaluru had to chase slightly more than Lucknow actually scored.

RCB stumble before settling

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

Mohammed Shami struck in the first over, removing Jacob Bethell for 4. Prince Yadav then sent Virat Kohli back for a duck in the second over. Two early blows changed the temperature of the chase.

When Kohli falls without scoring, the scoreboard feels heavier. It is not just one wicket. It is the loss of an anchor, a planner, and a batter who understands big chases better than most.

RCB were suddenly playing catch-up before the chase had even settled. That is where Rajat Patidar and Devdutt Padikkal did well.

They added 95 runs for the third wicket from 53 balls. Padikkal made 35 off 25, while Patidar gave RCB real belief with 61 off 31 balls.

Patidar’s innings had the right mix of calm and force. He did not just swing wildly. He picked the moments, found boundaries, and kept Bengaluru close enough to dream.

For a while, RCB had repaired the damage. In T20 cricket, that is often enough. You do not need the perfect chase. You need one partnership to drag the match deep.

Prince Yadav changes the chase

Prince Yadav’s second spell changed the match again.

He had already dismissed Kohli. Then, in the 11th over, he removed the settled Padikkal. In the same over, he also got Jitesh Sharma. That double strike took away RCB’s rhythm.

Yadav finished with 3 wickets, the best return for Lucknow. In a match full of sixes and late drama, his middle-over control deserves proper attention.

T20 matches often get remembered for hundreds and last overs. But the quieter turning points usually come in the middle. One over can disturb a chase. One new batter can eat up 4 balls. One wicket can force a captain to rethink the finish.

That is exactly what happened here.

Shahbaz Ahmed then stepped in with 2 huge wickets. He dismissed Patidar for 61, and later removed Tim David for 40 off 17 balls.

David’s wicket mattered enormously. He had the power to finish the chase in 8 balls. Once he went, RCB still had hitters, but the equation became sharper.

Krunal Pandya and Romario Shepherd tried to drag Bengaluru back. Krunal made 28 from 16, and Shepherd scored 23 from 15. They pushed the match into the final over, with 20 needed.

That is not impossible anymore. Not in this league. Not with the boundaries, the bat sizes, and the fearlessness of modern finishers.

Pant’s gamble survives the heat

Pant’s call to use Digvesh Rathi in the last over was brave. Some captains would have gone for the safer reputation. Pant went with the match-up and his own instinct.

Rathi had Shepherd in front of him. That is a hard assignment for any bowler, especially at the death. One missed length can disappear. One full toss can undo 18 overs of work.

Yet Rathi held his nerve. He conceded only 10 runs when he had 20 to defend. That sealed a 9-run win and kept LSG breathing in the playoff race.

For Lucknow, this was not just another league-stage result. It was a reminder that their season still has a pulse. They may still need other results to help them, but they have stayed alive.

That matters in the IPL. Teams often qualify not because they dominate every week, but because they refuse to vanish when the table turns cruel.

For RCB, this defeat will sting because the match was within reach. They lost early wickets, rebuilt, found acceleration, and still fell short. The missed chance to reach No. 1 adds another layer of frustration.

Still, Bengaluru’s batting depth remains clear. Patidar looked sharp. Tim David’s hitting kept them dangerous. Krunal and Shepherd showed the lower order can still hurt teams late.

But champions know this truth better than anyone. In a tight season, 9 runs can shape the table. One over can decide home advantage. One dropped chance can become a playoff headache.

For LSG, Marsh’s hundred gives them a story to rally around. Prince Yadav’s spell gives them belief beyond their big names. Rathi’s final over gives Pant a selection-room argument that numbers alone cannot capture.

The bigger message is simple. Lucknow are not safe, but they are not done. Bengaluru are strong, but not bulletproof. And as the IPL moves toward its sharp end, that is exactly the kind of uncertainty that keeps fans checking the points table after midnight.