Royal Challengers reclaimed the No.1 spot in the IPL 2026 after a convincing five-wicket win over clueless Lucknow Super Giants at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The defending champions dethroned the Rajasthan Royals from the top spot after their fourth victory in the 19th season of the tournament.

Chasing 147, the Bengaluru-based franchise reached the target in 15.1 overs, with veteran Virat Kohli scoring 49 runs off 34 balls, including 6 fours and 1 six.

Tim David (14 off 8) and Romario Shepherd (14 off 8) remained unbeaten.

Prince Yadav took three wickets while Avesh Khan added two scalps to his bowling figures. Earlier, Lucknow never looked threatening in the batting department. Mitchell Marsh contributed 40 runs off 32 deliveries, laced with 3 fours and 2 sixes.

Aiden Markram (12), Rishabh Pant (1), Nicholas Pooran (1) and Abdul Samad (0) recorded failures. It was down to Ayush Badoni (38 off 24) and Mukul Choudhary (39 off 28) to take the score to 146 all out in their 20 overs.

Rasikh Salam was the pick of the bowlers, picking up four wickets and conceding 24 runs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar got rid of three rival batters and gave away just 27 runs. Krunal Pandya (2 wickets) and Josh Hazlewood (1 wicket) bowled well.