Marsh ton powers LSG past RCB in IPL playoff race

A 20-run final over can make even calm dressing rooms forget how to breathe. In Lucknow, it turned into the over that kept a season alive.

लखनऊ सुपर जायंट्स beat रॉयल चैलेंजर्स बेंगलुरु by 9 runs in a rain-shortened 19-over match, and the result did more than change two points on the table. It reminded everyone that IPL seasons rarely end quietly.

RCB, the defending champions, had a chance to push towards the top. LSG, meanwhile, were playing with the nervous energy of a side still hanging on to playoff maths. By midnight, Lucknow had the win, Bengaluru had regret, and the tournament had another late-season twist.

Marsh gives Lucknow real muscle

मिचेल मार्श gave LSG the kind of innings teams dream about in May. He smashed 111 from 56 balls, with 9 fours and 9 sixes, and made a strong RCB attack look strangely short of answers.

This was not a polite hundred built through nudges and gaps. Marsh hit straight, hit hard, and kept forcing Bengaluru to drag the field back. Once that happened, singles also became easy.

Arshin Kulkarni played the quieter hand at the top. His 17 from 24 balls will not make highlight reels, but his opening stand with Marsh added 95 runs. In T20 cricket, that platform matters.

It allowed Nicholas Pooran to walk in with freedom. Pooran made 38 from 23 balls, adding pace without needing a long look at the pitch. Then ऋषभ पंत turned the last stretch into a small storm.

Pant finished unbeaten on 32 from 10 balls. His strike rate read 320, which tells you enough. In the last few overs, he did what finishers must do. He made a strong total feel heavier.

LSG reached 209 for 3 in 19 overs. Because rain had trimmed the game, RCB’s revised target under the Duckworth-Lewis method became 213. In plain terms, the chase became harder because Bengaluru had fewer overs to pace it.

RCB chase starts with a jolt

A chase above 200 already asks for courage. Losing early wickets makes it feel like climbing stairs with a bag of cement.

Mohammed Shami struck in the first over, removing Jacob Bethell for 4. Prince Yadav then landed the bigger punch in the second over. विराट कोहली went without scoring.

For RCB, that was a brutal start. Kohli’s wicket changes the mood of any chase, especially one needing more than 11 runs an over. Bengaluru were suddenly not chasing a target. They were chasing calm.

Rajat Patidar and Devdutt Padikkal then did what good top-order players do. They refused panic. Their 95-run stand from 53 balls brought RCB back into the contest and made Lucknow uneasy again.

Padikkal scored 35 from 25 balls. Patidar looked sharper and more fluent, reaching 61 from 31 balls. At that stage, RCB were not just alive. They had begun to ask serious questions of LSG.

But in T20 cricket, one over can erase 8 overs of repair work. Prince returned in the 11th over and removed Padikkal. In the same over, he also got Jitesh Sharma. That double strike hurt Bengaluru badly.

Prince and Shahbaz change the mood

Prince Yadav finished with 3 wickets, and his spell gave Lucknow the grip they needed. His biggest value came from timing. He struck when RCB started and then again when they settled.

That is often the difference between a bowler who gets wickets and a bowler who shapes matches. Prince did not just collect numbers. He broke Bengaluru’s rhythm twice.

Shahbaz Ahmed then turned the match further towards LSG. He dismissed Patidar for 61, which removed RCB’s best-set batter. Later, he got Tim David, who had raced to 40 from 17 balls.

David’s wicket was huge. Anyone who watches the IPL knows what he can do in the last 3 overs. With his strength, even 45 from 18 can feel possible.

RCB still refused to disappear. Krunal Pandya made 28 from 16 balls, while Romario Shepherd scored 23 from 15. Together, they dragged the match deep enough to trouble Lucknow’s dugout.

That is the special cruelty of the IPL. A team can dominate for most of the night and still enter the last over with sweaty palms.

Pant trusts Rathi at the death

The final over needed 20 runs. Shepherd, a powerful hitter, was at the crease. Many captains would have reached for raw pace or a more established death bowler.

Pant chose Digvesh Rathi.

It was a brave call, and also a revealing one. Captains often tell us what they really think through final-over choices. Pant trusted a spinner when the obvious fear was a big straight hit into the stands.

Rathi held his nerve. He gave away only 10 runs and closed the match for Lucknow. That over will matter in the LSG dressing room because belief often grows from such moments.

For a young or less-established bowler, these overs can change how a team sees him. They also change how he sees himself. The next time Pant throws him the ball under pressure, this memory will travel with both of them.

For RCB, the loss hurts beyond the 9-run margin. They missed a chance to strengthen their position near the top. More than that, they let a chase slip after Patidar and Padikkal had repaired the innings.

The defending champions will know where the match turned. The early wickets were costly, but the middle-order jolts hurt more. When Patidar and David fell, Bengaluru lost both control and violence.

Playoff maths stays messy

LSG’s win keeps their playoff hopes alive, though still tied to results elsewhere. That phrase, “mathematical chance”, usually sounds cold. Inside a team hotel, it feels very different.

It means players still wake up with purpose. Coaches still draw plans. Net bowlers still run in hard. Fans still keep calculators open during other matches.

For Lucknow supporters, this win offers more than arithmetic. Marsh’s hundred gives them a headline act. Prince’s wickets give them a new talking point. Rathi’s final over gives them a story to retell.

For Bengaluru fans, this will feel like a missed train. Their team had the batting to chase 213. Patidar played a captain’s innings. David threatened to steal the night. Yet the finish never quite arrived.

That is why this match will sit uneasily with RCB. They were not blown away. They were dragged back, allowed to hope, and then stopped at the door.

The IPL table will keep moving, as it always does at this stage. But some nights leave a louder echo than others. Lucknow found courage in a final over, while Bengaluru lost a chance to climb. In a tournament this tight, that may be the difference between waiting for results and controlling your own road.