Key Points
- Josh Hazlewood bowled 13 dots in his four-over spell.
- Rasikh Salam Dar's figures of 4/24 are the fourth best bowling figures by an uncapped Indian bowler for RCB in the IPL.
- RCB jumped to top of standings with their fourth victory in five games.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru showed they possess a potent bowling attack to match their explosive batting line-up as the defending champions look on course to successfully defend their IPL title.
The only team to post 200-plus totals in their first four games of IPL 2026, RCB hardly broke a sweat as they decimated Lucknow Super Giants by five wickets in a lop sided match in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
RCB, who jumped to top of the standings with four wins from five matches, look unstoppable at the moment.
Virat Kohli once again led the charge with the bat, slamming a brisk 49 from 34 balls to set up the comfortable run chase.
For a change it was RCB's bowlers, who hogged the limelight in their emphatic victory over a lacklustre LSG.
Hazlewood Shines For RCB
Electing to bowl, veterans Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were outstanding with the new ball, keeping the big-hitting LSG duo of Mitchell Marsh and Aiden Markram in check in the Powerplay.
Hazlewood was masterful with his lengths, not bowling anything full, as he focussed on good length and short deliveries.
Even before he had even taken a wicket, Hazlewood dealt LSG a major blow when he struck Rishabh Pant on the elbow with a short ball forcing the LSG captain to walk off the field with an injury.
Courtesy of Hazlewood's miserly spell of six runs from two overs, LSG limped to 35/1 in six overs -- their lowest Powerplay total this season.
Hazlewood then piled on the misery on the struggling Nicholas Pooran, who dragged the short ball back on to his stumps to be bowled for one to continue his nightmare season with the bat.
Pooran has managed just 42 runs in five innings this season.
Having played just two of the first five games for RCB, Hazlewood has quickly found his rhythm. His figures of 1/20 in four overs are the most economical spell by a RCB bowler this season as he featuring 13 dots in his four over spell.
Incredibly, Hazlewood pitched just one ball up during his spell, while 14 deliveries were on good length and nine short, one of which accounted for Pooran.
Rasikh, Bhuvneshwar Sink LSG In Death Overs
Young Rasikh Salam Dar complemented the senior pace duo beautifully with his clever change of pace in the middle overs, never allowing the LSG batting line-up to break free. J&K's Dar ran through the RCB lower order, picking up three wickets in his last eight balls, to emerge as his team's most successful bowler with 4/24 -- the fourth best bowling figures by an uncapped Indian bowler for RCB in the IPL.
Bhuvneshwar ensured there was no LSG comeback delivering a superb spell in the death overs. First, he sent back Pant, who came back to bat after walking off with injury earlier, as he mistimed the full toss and was brilliantly caught at deep square leg by Phil Salt.
He then produced a double strike in the 19th over, dismissing George Linde and Mohammed Shami off successive deliveries, with the latter cleaned up by a lethal yorker.
Spinner Krunal Pandya also made his presence felt. He dismissed the well-set Mitchell Marsh for 40 before he got the wicket of Abdul Samad in the next over to complete the landmark of 100 wickets in the IPL.
LSG's top batters have struggled to make a mark in IPL 2026 so far. Pant (104 runs in 5 matches), Marsh (115 runs in 5 matches), Markram (120 runs in 5 matches) and Pooran (42 runs in 5 matches) have all found the going tough.
LSG's two victories this season have been down to individual performances than a team effort. Shami's match-winning spell of 2/9 in four overs powered LSG to victory against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mukul Choudhary's sensational knock helped them clinch a sensational victory against Kolkata Knight Riders.
With just two wins from five games and with a batting line-up low on confidence, LSG must find a way to shake off their current woes and fight their way back into contention.
Meanwhile, RCB with four wins from five matches, are beginning to look like genuine title contenders once again.
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