Table of Contents
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru Vs Lucknow Super Giants Timeline covers a relatively young IPL rivalry that has quickly produced dramatic finishes, high-scoring matches, knockout pressure, and memorable individual performances. The teams first met in 2022, and their encounters have repeatedly delivered close contests. RCB won the first two meetings in 2022, including the Eliminator, while LSG claimed a thrilling one-wicket victory in their first 2023 meeting. The rivalry has continued to evolve, with RCB winning both of their 2026 league meetings against LSG in April and May? No, the teams split those two 2026 matches, with RCB winning the first by five wickets and LSG taking the second by nine runs under the DLS method.
Head-to-Head Summary
| Metric | Details |
|---|---|
| Total Matches Played | 8 |
| Royal Challengers Bengaluru Wins | 5 |
| Lucknow Super Giants Wins | 3 |
| First Meeting | 19 April 2022 |
| Most Recent Meeting | 7 May 2026 |
Match-by-Match Timeline (Start to Present)
The full historical timeline of all encounters between the two franchises outlines the exact progression of their rivalry:
| Date / Season | Venue | Winner | Margin of Victory | Key Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 April 2022 | DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai | RCB | Won by 18 runs | Faf du Plessis hit a brilliant 96; Josh Hazlewood took 4 wickets. |
| 25 May 2022 | Eden Gardens, Kolkata | RCB | Won by 14 runs | IPL Eliminator thriller; Rajat Patidar smashed an iconic 112*. |
| 10 April 2023 | M. Chinnaswamy, Bengaluru | LSG | Won by 1 wicket | Last-ball finish; Nicholas Pooran hit a blistering 15-ball 50. |
| 1 May 2023 | Ekana Stadium, Lucknow | RCB | Won by 18 runs | Low-scoring intense drama; RCB successfully defended 126 runs. |
| 2 April 2024 | M. Chinnaswamy, Bengaluru | LSG | Won by 28 runs | Quinton de Kock scored 81; Mayank Yadav dismantled RCB with express pace. |
| 27 May 2025 | Ekana Stadium, Lucknow | RCB | Won by 6 wickets | High-scoring league finale; Jitesh Sharma hit an unbeaten 85 (33) to chase down 228. |
| 15 April 2026 | M. Chinnaswamy, Bengaluru | RCB | Won by 5 wickets | RCB broke their home duck against LSG, restricting them to 146 and chasing it with 29 balls left. |
| 7 May 2026 | Ekana Stadium, Lucknow | LSG | Won by 9 runs (DLS) | Mitchell Marsh smashed a dominant 111 (56); LSG successfully defended a modified target. |
Highest Individual Run-Scorers
| Batter | Franchise | Total Runs | Key Insight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rajat Patidar | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 243 | Smashed a historic 112* in the 2022 Eliminator match. |
| Virat Kohli | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 242 | Showcased incredible consistency, anchored multiple run-chases. |
| Faf du Plessis | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 238 | Led from the front with a top score of 96 back in 2022. |
| Mitchell Marsh | Lucknow Super Giants | 218 | Plundered a dominant 111 during the 2026 season. |
| Nicholas Pooran | Lucknow Super Giants | 163 | Smashed an explosive 15-ball half-century at Bengaluru. |
RCB Vs LSG Top Wicket-Takers
| Bowler | Franchise | Wickets | Key Insight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Hazlewood | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 11 | Spearheaded the attack with a match-winning 4-wicket haul in 2022. |
| Mohammed Siraj | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 7 | Generated crucial early swing and tight death-overs tracking. |
| Harshal Patel | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 6 | Deployed deceptive variations effectively during the early rivalry matches. |
| Prince Yadav | Lucknow Super Giants | 6 | Emerged as a primary threat, dismantling line-ups in 2026. |
| Rasikh Salam | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 5 | Scalped key breakthroughs during high-intensity middle overs. |
Head-to-Head Record by Venue
| Venue | Total Matches | RCB Wins | LSG Wins | Match Dynamics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M. Chinnaswamy Stadium (Bengaluru) | 3 | 1 | 2 | High scoring ground with small boundaries. |
| Ekana Cricket Stadium (Lucknow) | 3 | 2 | 1 | Spin friendly pitch with variable bounce. |
| Neutral Venues (Mumbai / Kolkata) | 2 | 2 | 0 | Held during the 2022 season playoff cycle. |
M. Chinnaswamy Stadium Records (Bengaluru)
For multiple seasons, LSG maintained an unbeaten record at RCB’s home ground until RCB broke the streak in 2026.
- Highest Team Total: 213/9 by Lucknow Super Giants (2023)
- Lowest Team Total: 146 all out by Lucknow Super Giants (2026)
- Highest Successful Chase: 213/9 by Lucknow Super Giants (2023)
- Key Individual Performance: Nicholas Pooran smashed a blistering 15-ball 50 at this venue in 2023.
Ekana Cricket Stadium Records (Lucknow)
RCB has historically performed incredibly well as the visiting team in Lucknow, though LSG secured a vital home victory during the 2026 season
- Highest Team Total: 230/4 by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (2025)
- Lowest Team Total: 108 all out by Lucknow Super Giants (2023)
- Highest Successful Chase: 230/4 by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (2025)
- Key Individual Performance: Mitchell Marsh plundered a dominant 111 off 56 balls to anchor LSG’s 2026 home win.
The 2022 Spark: First Meetings and Instant Intensity
The foundation of this fierce rivalry was laid immediately during the 2022 season, the debut year for the Lucknow franchise.
- The Maiden Encounter: On 19 April 2022 at the DY Patil Stadium, RCB set the tone. Faf du Plessis anchored the innings with a masterclass 96, allowing RCB to defend 181 successfully. Josh Hazlewood dismantled the LSG chase with a clinical 4-wicket haul, handing RCB an 18-run victory.
- The Eliminator Heat: The intensity multiplied exponentially in the postseason. Meeting in the high-stakes 2022 Eliminator at Eden Gardens, Rajat Patidar played a career-defining, unbeaten 112 off just 54 balls. RCB posted a mammoth 207, winning by 14 runs to knock the debutants out of the playoffs and setting off an instant, deep-seated competitive edge between the franchises.
When the Points Race Heated Up: Early Season Clashes and Standings Shifts
Because both franchises consistently battle near the playoff threshold, their league-stage games regularly function as direct qualification filters.
- Mid-Table Bottlenecks: Victories or defeats in this fixture have repeatedly caused massive swings in the IPL standings, dictating net run rates and top-four positioning.
- The 2024 Separation: In the early stretch of 2024, LSG’s 28-run victory at Bengaluru temporarily derailed RCB’s season momentum, emphasizing how these encounters dynamically shift the points table landscape early in the tournament cycle.
Chinnaswamy Pressure and Away Tests: Nights That Defined Momentum
The home-and-away dynamics have provided some of the most compelling theater, defined heavily by fortress breaches and hostile traveling environments.
- The Chinnaswamy Curse: For multiple years, RCB’s home ground, the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, felt cursed against Lucknow. Defending totals proved near impossible on the small boundary layout, leading to a long, psychological drought where LSG routinely won in Bengaluru.
- The Sweet Relief of 2026: That streak finally shattered on 15 April 2026. Playing under immense pressure in front of an expectant home crowd, RCB’s bowling unit produced a phenomenal display, restricting LSG to a mere 146 before clinical chasing crossed the line with 5 wickets in hand.
- The Ekana Fortress: Conversely, RCB has frequently turned the hostile, spin-friendly Ekana Stadium into a successful hunting ground, typified by grinding out defensive masterclasses on tricky pitches.
Player Duels That Shaped the Timeline: Batters, Bowlers and Finishers
The individual matchups within this fixture are stacked with elite international talent and raw domestic speed.
- Patidar vs The LSG Spin Matrix: Rajat Patidar has historically established himself as a primary tormentor of LSG, using an aggressive approach to dismantle both pace and spin combinations in the middle overs.
- Pooran vs The Death Over Mix: Nicholas Pooran has repeatedly stood out as Lucknow’s ultimate finisher, highlighted by his breathtaking 15-ball half-century that completely stunned the Bengaluru crowd.
- Express Pace Clashes: The raw velocity of speedsters like Mayank Yadav and Prince Yadav has frequently rattled RCB’s top-tier batting order, creating a constant tactical chess match against anchoring stalwarts like Virat Kohli.
Tactical Turns Across Seasons: Powerplays, Middle Overs and Death Bowling Battles
As the teams evolved from 2022 through 2026, tactical blueprints shifted across distinct match phases.
- Powerplay Control: Control over the initial six overs has dictated the outcome of nearly every match. Bowlers like Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj have consistently used tight line-and-length strategies to suffocate early scoring rates.
- Middle-Over Resurgence: Spin variations and deceptive pacing across the middle overs often determined whether teams collapsed or rebuilt. RCB’s ability to keep wickets in hand through this phase became a defining factor in their 2025 and 2026 successes.
- Death Over Volatility: The final four overs have regularly flipped matches on their head. Extreme batting depth on both sides means no target is completely safe, changing death-bowling into a high-risk gamble of wide yorkers and slower variations.
Record Days and Scorecard Moments That Moved the Needle
Several matches have registered records that remain benchmark moments for both franchises.
- The Low-Score Masterpiece (2023): RCB successfully defended a meager 126 runs at the Ekana Stadium, squeezing LSG out for 108 runs in a display of tactical bowling discipline.
- The 228-Run Chase (2025): In a spectacular league finale at Lucknow, LSG set a massive target of 228. RCB responded with absolute batting dominance, led by Jitesh Sharma’s unbeaten 85 off 33 balls, successfully executing one of the highest run-chases in their modern history.
High-Stakes Encounters and the Weight of Fan Expectations
Few rivalries stir the passions of fans and digital spaces quite like this one, driven by passionate fanbases and dramatic on-field flashpoints.
- The Kohli-Gambhir Flashpoint: The 2023 low-scoring encounter in Lucknow boiled over post-match, culminating in a highly publicized, fiery confrontation between Virat Kohli and mentor Gautam Gambhir. This moment cemented the fixture as a certified grudge match.
- The Last-Ball Chaos: In another 2023 encounter at the Chinnaswamy, a missed non-striker run-out attempt by Harshal Patel on the final ball led to a single-wicket victory for LSG, causing absolute pandemonium in the stadium and driving fan interactions to fever pitch.
The Latest Chapters: Recent Matches and the Evolving Rivalry Numbers
The 2026 season added two highly competitive chapters to the storied timeline, showing that neither side is willing to back down.
- 15 April 2026 (Bengaluru): RCB secured a historic home win. Electing to field, their bowling line-up choked LSG’s explosive hitters, holding them to 146 runs. RCB chased down the target with 5 wickets standing and 29 balls left in a statement performance.
- 7 May 2026 (Lucknow): LSG exacted swift revenge at home. In a rain-affected encounter, Mitchell Marsh played a blistering innings of 111 off just 56 balls. LSG successfully defended the DLS-adjusted target to win by 9 runs, ensuring the rivalry remains fiercely balanced as they look toward the future.
Final Thoughts
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru Vs Lucknow Super Giants Timeline shows how quickly a new IPL matchup can develop into an entertaining rivalry. RCB dominated the early meetings, including an 18-run win in the 2022 league stage and another 14-run victory in the Eliminator. LSG responded with a dramatic one-wicket win in 2023 and a 28-run victory in 2024. The 2025 and 2026 encounters added another layer, with RCB winning a high-scoring 2025 match by six wickets and the teams exchanging victories in 2026. These matches have featured explosive batting, tense chases, and memorable finishes, making this one of the IPL’s most closely followed modern rivalries.
FAQs
1. When did RCB and LSG first play each other?
Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Lucknow Super Giants first met during the 2022 IPL season, after LSG joined the competition.
2. Which team won the first RCB vs LSG match?
RCB won their first meeting by 18 runs on April 19, 2022, after scoring 181/6 and restricting LSG to 163/8.
3. What was the most dramatic early match?
The April 10, 2023 encounter was particularly memorable. LSG chased 213 and won by one wicket in a dramatic finish.
4. What happened in the 2026 meetings?
The teams played twice in the 2026 league stage. RCB won the April 15 match by five wickets, while LSG won the May 7 rematch by nine runs under the DLS method.
5. What makes the RCB vs LSG rivalry interesting?
The rivalry has produced close finishes, high-scoring games, knockout drama, and memorable performances from players on both sides. The relatively short history has already created several matches that stand out in IPL history.
