Mitchell Marsh's 111 powers LSG past RCB as Kohli records first IPL duck

Mitchell Marsh hit the IPL like a freight train at the Ekana Stadium. His 111 off 56 balls — nine sixes, nine fours — powered Lucknow Super Giants to 209/3 in a rain-shortened 19 overs. When the heavens opened during RCB's reply, DLS calculations handed LSG a nine-run victory despite Royal Challengers reaching 203/6 in their allocated 19 overs. The real story was not the rain or the method, but the manner of RCB's batting collapse. Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, and Rajat Patidar all recorded ducks. For Kohli, it was his first golden duck in 245 IPL innings.

The Marsh masterclass

This was batting from another planet. Marsh walked in at 45/2 and treated the RCB attack like net bowlers. His strike rate of 198.2 tells only half the story. The Australian targeted the short boundaries with surgical precision, launching nine sixes that cleared the ropes by considerable margins. Mohammed Siraj, usually reliable in the powerplay, went for 52 runs in four overs. Yuzvendra Chahal, RCB's premier spinner, conceded 48 in his quota. When a bowler of Chahal's caliber gets taken apart like that, you know you are witnessing something special.

Marsh brought up his hundred in the 18th over with a six over long-on. The crowd at Ekana erupted. This was only the second century of IPL 2026, and easily the most destructive. His partnership with Nicholas Pooran added 164 runs in just 13.2 overs. Pooran's 42 off 31 balls played the perfect supporting role, rotating strike and finding boundaries when Marsh needed a breather.

The chase began with promise. RCB needed 210 runs from 19 overs — a steep ask but not impossible given their batting depth. Then the wheels came off spectacularly. Mustafizur Rahman trapped Kohli lbw for a golden duck with the third ball of the innings. The Bangladeshi left-armer got the ball to nip back sharply, catching India's batting superstar on the crease. In 245 IPL innings spanning 17 seasons, Kohli had never been dismissed for a duck. The stat sheets will remember this moment.

Padikkal followed for another duck in the same over, caught behind off a thick edge. Patidar lasted five balls before Ravi Bishnoi's googly found his stumps. Three ducks in the first four overs. RCB were 12/3, chasing 210. Game over.

When Kohli records his first IPL duck and two other top-order batsmen follow suit, you are watching a bowling masterclass disguised as a batting collapse.

— Ravi Krishnan

CM AI scorecard

CricketMind AI backed LSG at 51% pre-toss and made Mitchell Marsh the Captain pick in our XI. Both calls delivered emphatically. The model identified Marsh's recent form spike — three fifties in his last four innings — and weighted his all-round value heavily. His captaincy multiplier would have returned serious points for fantasy players who trusted the algorithm.

What this means for the season

LSG's third consecutive victory moves them to the top half of the table. More importantly, they have discovered a match-winner in Marsh. The Australian's form with both bat and ball makes him their most valuable asset. His economy rate of 7.2 with the ball complements this batting carnage perfectly. Teams will now plan specifically for Marsh, but planning and stopping are different propositions.

RCB's problems run deeper than one rain-affected loss. Their top-order fragility was exposed brutally here. Kohli's duck aside, the bigger concern is the pattern. Padikkal and Patidar have struggled for consistency all season. When your top three combine for zero runs, even DRS cannot save you. The middle order fought — Dinesh Karthik's unbeaten 47 off 25 balls showed the way — but by then, the asking rate had climbed beyond reach.

The rain intervention adds another layer to this result. DLS calculations favored LSG, but RCB were already behind the required rate when the covers came on. Sometimes weather helps; sometimes it merely confirms what was already inevitable.

Ravi Krishnan Fantasy Strategy Editor CricketMind AI