Royal Challengers Bengaluru moved to the top of the IPL 2026 points table on Wednesday, April 15, after defeating Lucknow Super Giants by five wickets at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
RCB’s fourth win in five matches this season, was built on a clinical bowling performance in the first half and a composed chase anchored by Virat Kohli, who made his first appearance of the match as an Impact Player substitute.
How Virat Kohli Leads RCB to Victory
Kohli’s influence on the April 15 win against Lucknow Super Giants went beyond his 49 off 34 balls. Coming in as an Impact Player substitute, the first time in nine years he was not in RCB’s starting XI, he opened the chase alongside Phil Salt and immediately set the tone.
His footwork against pace, the cleanness of his drives through the offside, and the assurance with which he rotated strike kept LSG’s bowlers under pressure from the first over. By the time Avesh Khan dismissed him one short of fifty in the 11th over, RCB were firmly in control of a 147-run chase with wickets and overs in hand.
With 228 runs from five matches in IPL 2026 at an average of 57 and a strike rate of 158.33, he holds the Orange Cap and sits as the competition’s leading run-scorer, continuing a pattern that stretches back to 2008. For a defending champion side looking to back up last season’s title, Kohli’s consistency at the top of the order has been the steadiest thread in RCB’s four-win start to the season.
How RCB Dismantled LSG’s Innings
Rajat Patidar won the toss and elected to field. What followed was one of RCB’s more complete bowling efforts of the season. Rasikh Salam Dar led the attack with four wickets, regularly testing LSG’s top and middle order with pace and movement.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar contributed three wickets, effective particularly in the death overs against the lower order. Krunal Pandya chipped in with two, reaching 100 career IPL wickets in the process.
Josh Hazlewood claimed one and also struck LSG captain Rishabh Pant on the elbow in the ninth over, forcing him off the field. Pant returned in the 17th over, heavily strapped, but managed only one run from four balls before departing.
LSG’s innings never found momentum. Only Mitchell Marsh, top scorer with 40 from 32 balls, and a late partnership between Ayush Badoni and Mukul Choudhary gave their total any credibility. At 146 all out, LSG posted a total that gave RCB a comfortable margin to work with.
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The Chase and How RCB Sealed It
Despite Kohli’s dismissal in the 11th over, RCB kept the scoreboard moving through Patidar, who struck 27 from 13 balls and put on a productive stand with Kohli before hitting two sixes in the 10th over off Mohammed Shami.
Jitesh Sharma arrived and immediately changed tempo, hammering 23 from nine deliveries in a dominant over against Digvesh Rathi, who went for 51 runs across his four-over spell. Tim David and Romario Shepherd closed out the chase without fuss, with RCB reaching 149 for five in 15.1 overs, winning by five wickets with 29 balls remaining.
Match Summary
| Detail | LSG | RCB |
| Score | 146 all out (20 overs) | 149/5 (15.1 overs) |
| Top Scorer | Mitchell Marsh 40 (32) | Virat Kohli 49 (34) |
| Key Bowling | Prince Yadav 2 wkts | Rasikh Salam Dar 4/24 |
| Captain | Rishabh Pant (retired hurt) | Rajat Patidar |
| Result | Lost by 5 wickets | Won |
Where RCB Stand in IPL 2026
The win moved RCB from fourth to first on the points table, overtaking Rajasthan Royals on net run rate. With four wins and one loss from five games, the defending champions have eight points and the best NRR in the competition at this stage.
LSG remain in seventh place, level on points with Sunrisers Hyderabad in fourth. For RCB, the result confirms a strong early-season rhythm, four wins in five games as the field narrows toward the playoff push later in May.
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