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The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium erupted in a sea of red this Wednesday as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)<\/strong> delivered a masterclass in clinical T20 cricket. In the 23rd match of the IPL 2026<\/strong><\/a> season, RCB dismantled the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG)<\/strong> by 5 wickets, chasing down a modest target of 147 with nearly five overs to spare. The victory, which cements RCB\u2019s dominant position at the top of the table, was built on the back of a sensational bowling performance and a vintage batting display by the league\u2019s most iconic figure.<\/p>\n The narrative of the first innings was written by the young pace sensation Rasikh Salam<\/strong>, whose \u201cfiery spell\u201d left the LSG batting lineup in tatters. Winning the toss and opting to bowl proved to be a masterstroke for RCB. While veteran Bhuvneshwar Kumar<\/strong> set the tone with early scalps, it was Salam who provided the knockout punches.<\/p>\n Salam\u2019s figures of 4\/24 in 4 overs were a testament to his tactical evolution. He first broke a dangerous opening stand by dismissing Aiden Markram<\/strong> for 12, but his real impact came in the death overs. LSG struggled to find momentum, hampered further by an injury scare to Rishabh Pant<\/strong>, who had to retire hurt early in the innings. Although Mitchell Marsh<\/strong> (40 off 32) and Ayush Badoni<\/strong> (38 off 24) attempted to rebuild, Salam consistently found the breakthroughs.<\/p>\n The young pacer\u2019s ability to mix searing yorkers with deceptive slower balls saw him clear out the tail, including the wickets of Mukul Choudhary<\/strong> (39) and Avesh Khan<\/strong>. LSG was eventually bundled out for 146 in 20 overs. The disciplined bowling effort was supported by Josh Hazlewood<\/strong>, who maintained an economy of 5.00, ensuring LSG never reached a competitive total on a typically high-scoring Bengaluru track.<\/p>\n Chasing 147, RCB wasted no time in asserting their authority. Despite the early loss of Phil Salt<\/strong>, the introduction of Virat Kohli<\/strong><\/a> as an Impact Player sent the home crowd into a frenzy. Kohli looked in sublime touch from the first delivery, anchoring the chase with a mix of aggression and surgical precision.<\/p>\n Kohli played a clinical knock of 49 runs off just 34 balls, laced with 4 boundaries and 6 massive sixes. His strike rate of 144.11 kept the pressure firmly on the LSG bowlers. He shared a crucial 57-run partnership with Devdutt Padikkal<\/strong>, taking RCB to 60\/1 within the Powerplay. While Avesh managed to eventually remove Kohli just shy of a half-century, the damage was already done.<\/p>\n LSG\u2019s Prince Yadav<\/strong> staged a late fightback, picking up 3 wickets for 32 runs, but the required rate was never a concern for the Bengaluru side. Contributions from Rajat Patidar<\/strong> (27 off 13) and Jitesh Sharma <\/strong>(23 off 9) kept the scoreboard ticking at nearly 10 runs per over. Ultimately, Tim David<\/strong> and Romario Shepherd<\/strong> stayed calm to finish the game at 149\/5 in just 15.1 overs. This emphatic win with 29 balls remaining not only thrilled the fans but significantly boosted RCB\u2019s Net Run Rate, making them the team to beat this season.<\/p>\n Also WATCH: Mitchell Marsh launches Bhuvneshwar Kumar out of the park with a gigantic 102 meter six in RCB vs LSG match<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Rasikh dar salam was the last missing piece of this super RCB team fr.. \u2014 Its_itachi (@shree9503) April 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Rasikh Salam: 4-0-24-4 RCB FAST BOWLERS SHOW AT CHINNASWAMY \ud83e\udd2f\u26a1 pic.twitter.com\/FXhkjumixa<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Noor Alam (@actornoor73) April 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Rashikh Salam has one of the best slower one in this IPL. This is what Impressed me the most when i picked him first for J&k. #rcb<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) April 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Bhuvneshwar Kumar : 4-0-27-3<\/p>\n Josh Hazlewood : 4-0-20-1<\/p>\n Rasikh Salam : 4-0-24-4<\/p>\n Krunal Pandya : 4-0-38-2<\/p>\n Suyash Sharma : 4-0-34-0 <\/p>\n RCB’s Bowling performance tonight. \ud83e\udd75\ud83d\udcc8#RCBvsLSG<\/a>pic.twitter.com\/pQDQHVlE8c<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Harshaa (@HarshAA__18) April 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n With theses two gigantic performances from Rasikh Salam, those unnecessary shouts of playing Hazlewood & Duffy together will be off thankfully. <\/p>\n I’m not much in favour of putting Shepherd & Duffy in the subs and using accordingly \u2014 RCB Xtra (@Rcb_Xtra) April 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n I\u2019m expecting Rasikh Salam to smash 1M+ followers by tomorrow, he\u2019s backed by the biggest, loudest fanbase in the league. \u2764\ufe0f\ud83d\udd25<\/p>\n Get up, RCB fans, we have to make our best bowler famous. Let the numbers explode overnight. pic.twitter.com\/grrpia1YWa<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 MAMU (@ElevateUrMind4) April 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Rasikh Salam Dar \u2013 you are incredible!<\/p>\n Lucknow all-out for 146 at the Chinnaswamy<\/p>\n 4 WICKET HAUL for Salam, solving RCB’s third pacer issue and the team is figured out now#Cricket<\/a> #IPL2026<\/a> #iplupdate<\/a> #TATAIPL2026<\/a> #TataIPL<\/a> #IPL_2026<\/a> #IPL<\/a> #ipl<\/a> #CSK<\/a> #RCBvsLSG<\/a> #LSG<\/a> #RCB<\/a> #LSGvsRCB<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/61LfWiDHOw<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Team India\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf3\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf3 (@PritiThaku53390) April 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Orange cup for Virat Kohli. He got a strike rate of 162. pic.twitter.com\/tvczylF0bN<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Juylov Vladislav (@juylov_vlad) April 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Virat Kohli who took retirement from T20Is 2 years back is still India’s best T20I batter & also world’s best\u2665\ufe0f<\/p>\n During T20I WC, I said Virat is still the best in the world & same will be proved in IPL where every player will get same conditions & he proved me right! pic.twitter.com\/j8WnYS9lTZ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Rajiv (@Rajiv1841) April 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \ud83d\udce2RCB BEAT LSG BY 5 WICKETS..!! <\/p>\n Defending Champions on the table topper. \ud83d\udc4d pic.twitter.com\/zjb7A8Hl8I<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Danish (@BhttDNSH100) April 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nRasikh Salam\u2019s brilliance halts LSG for low score in the first innings<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Virat Kohli\u2019s clinical knock steers RCB to a dominant victory over LSG<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Here\u2019s how fans reacted:<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Ngl this might be RCB’s greatest XI ever..
And yeah..Virat Kohli ain’t even the captain..\ud83d\ude2d pic.twitter.com\/RkHmSATBoD<\/a><\/p>\n\n
Bhuvneshwar Kumar: 4-0-27-3
Josh Hazlewood: 4-0-20-1<\/p>\n\n
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Shepherd should be given a long rope, clarity\u2026<\/p>\n\n
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