Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) former captain and star batter Virat Kohli once again gave a testament to his chasing credentials as the defending champions outclassed the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by five wickets today (April 15) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2026). Kohli played a match-winning knock of 34-ball 49 and although he couldn’t stay till the end, his innings to set the platform for an easy RCB win with close to five overs left.
However, Kohli’s batting heroics come despite not being entirely fit, which forced him out of the RCB Playing XI and had to play as an Impact player against LSG. For the unversed, Kohli had hurt his ankle in the previous game against Mumbai Indians (MI) and did not field, while reports also claimed that he had a fever and an eye infection. Furthermore, he was spotted with a strapping on his knee in the buildup to the LSG game.
Kohli himself has now confirmed his adversity while also providing a health update. Speaking during the post-match presentation ceremony of the RCB vs LSG contest, Kohli said,
“I’m still not 100%. My knee was a bit sore last game. Even health-wise, I’ve been under the weather for four or five days now. So, just getting back up to my best. I started off well today, so I was happy with my intensity.”
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Speaking about the RCB vs LSG match, the defending champions picked up their fourth win in five games. In the process, they climbed to the top of the points table while maintaining their unbeaten run at the Chinnaswamy so far where they have won all three matches played so far.
Coming back to today’s contest, after putting Lucknow to bat first, RCB bowlers bundled the opposition out for 146. Rasikh Salam Dar put up a stellar show with figures of 4/24 from his four overs but it was Josh Hazlewood who won the Player of the Match award for his economical spell of 1/20 from four overs.
The chase however began with an early blow for RCB as they lost explosive opener Phil Salt cheaply for seven in the second over. Nevertheless, Kohli steadied the ship before narrowly missing out on a fifty as Tim David and Romario Shepherd put the finishing touches to wrap up the contest.
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