Royal Challengers Bangalore secured the top position in IPL 2026 by defeating Lucknow by 5 wickets. Chasing a target of 147 runs set by Lucknow, Bangalore reached the target in 15.1 overs while losing 5 wickets. Bangalore captain Virat Kohli made a crucial contribution with 49 runs, and Rashik Salam took 4 wickets. April 15, Kathmandu.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have climbed to first place in the IPL 2026 points table. In the match held on Wednesday at Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore defeated Lucknow by 5 wickets. Lucknow set a target of 147 runs in their innings, which Bangalore achieved in 15.1 overs for 5 wickets down. Opener Virat Kohli led the way with 49 runs. For Lucknow, Prince Yadav took 3 wickets while Avesh Khan claimed 2. Lucknow players Rajat Patidar and Jitesh Sharma contributed 27 and 23 runs respectively. Romario Shepherd and Tim David remained unbeaten on 14 runs each.
Having lost the toss and batting first, Lucknow were bowled out for 146 runs in 20 overs. Mitchell Marsh top-scored for Lucknow with 40 runs, supported by Mukul Chaudhary’s 39 and Ayush Badoni’s 38. Rashik Salam was the lead wicket-taker for Bangalore with 4 wickets, followed by Bhuvneshwar Kumar with 3. Krunal Pandya took 2 wickets and Josh Hazlewood claimed 1. With this victory, Bangalore now have 8 points from 5 matches with 4 wins, securing the top spot. Rajasthan Royals also have 8 points from the same number of matches but RCB leads on net run rate. Lucknow remain in seventh place with 4 points from 5 matches, marking their third loss this season.
