Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) stalwart Virat Kohli moved to the top of the Orange Cap table for IPL 2026 after scoring 49 runs off 34 balls against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday (April 15).

Kohli broke the back of 147-run chase with aggressive batting in the powerplay. This performance brought his total for the season to 228 runs across five matches, taking him past Heinrich Klaasen.

Kohli looked set for his 66th IPL half-century, but in an attempt to play an aerial shot off Avesh Khan, he perished one run short of the landmark.

As soon as Nicholas Pooran completed the catch at long-on, Kohli's wife Anushka Sharma was visibly disappointed in the stands, with her reaction quickly being caught on camera.

Coming to the match, RCB restricted LSG to a below-par 146/10 in 20 overs after opting to bowl first. Rasikh Salam Dar produced his career-best IPL spell (4-24 in four overs) for the home side, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3-27 in four overs), Krunal Pandya (2-38 in four overs) and Josh Hazlewood (1-20 in four overs) chipped in with impressive figures.

The Super Giants never managed to find momentum, with Mitchell Marsh (40), Mukul Choudhary (39) Ayush Badoni (38) emerging as the notable contributors.

In reply, the defending champions overhauled the target with five wickets and 29 deliveries to spare. Apart from Kohli, Rajat Patidar (27 off 13), Jitesh Sharma (23 off 9), Tim David (14* off 8) and Romario Shepherd (14* off 8) produced brilliant cameos to seal a thumping win for RCB.