Royal Challengers Bengaluru were handed a nine-run defeat via the DLS method by Lucknow Super Giants in their IPL 2026 match at the Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Thursday. A pivotal moment came when LSG pacer Prince Yadav struck with an explosive inswinger that left RCB batter Virat Kohli stunned.
Key takeaways
- RCB lost by nine runs under the DLS calculation against Lucknow Super Giants at Ekana.
- Prince Yadav delivered an inswinging ball clocked at 140.4 kmph to unsettle Virat Kohli.
- Kohli was bowled as the off stump was disturbed when the ball beat his defence.
- Sanjay Manjrekar highlighted Kohli’s immediate reaction as a sign of a champion batter’s mindset.
- Manjrekar compared Kohli’s body language after the dismissal to how Sachin Tendulkar reacted late in his career.
Kohli’s dismissal after Prince Yadav’s inswinger
During the contest, the decisive swing of play arrived when Prince Yadav produced a 140.4 kmph inswinging delivery aimed to hit the corridor of uncertainty. The ball moved late enough to penetrate Kohli’s defence, striking in a way that uprooted the off stump and resulted in the veteran’s dismissal.
What stood out was Kohli’s reaction right after the wicket. Even after being bowled clean, he appeared surprised, immediately looking toward the spot where the ball had pitched, as though trying to understand how the ball’s behaviour had undone him.
Manjrekar explains the ‘champion’ reaction
Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar elaborated on Kohli’s response in a detailed discussion, drawing a direct comparison with Sachin Tendulkar. Manjrekar said the clean-bowled moment offers insight into how elite batters process setbacks.
He noted that Kohli’s tendency to glance down at the pitch after getting out mirrors the way Tendulkar, particularly towards the end of his playing days, would look at the surface and judge whether the ball had stayed low or behaved unusually. In Manjrekar’s view, this reaction suggests that when a top batter faces a sudden jolt, they do not immediately turn inward or become self-critical.
Instead, Manjrekar pointed out that great batters look for explanations beyond their own technique—searching for reasons in the conditions or the delivery itself rather than questioning their core skills straight away. He argued that such confidence helps them recover mentally, because their self-belief does not drop rapidly after a single failure.
Concluding his remarks, Manjrekar added that this instinct to quickly locate another reason for the dismissal is a defining trait of an exceptional batter. He contrasted it with how “lesser mortals” often see their confidence break down when similar moments happen, while the best players instinctively protect their mindset and continue to trust their ability.
