Lucknow Super Giants finally broke their home drought in IPL 2026, beating Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Ekana Stadium to register their first win in front of their own fans. The day, however, carried an unwelcome distraction outside the ground, where fake AI-generated tickets were reportedly being circulated and sold to unsuspecting supporters.
Lucknow Police moved quickly after cracking down on an interstate racket allegedly involved in forging match passes for IPL 2026 with the help of artificial intelligence tools. During Thursday’s contest between LSG and RCB, four people were reportedly arrested for selling counterfeit tickets near the stadium gates.
Reports said the accused used AI-based drafting tools along with graphic design software to manufacture fake IPL tickets. A senior police officer from Lucknow South, Amit Kumar Anand, said that during the match a counterfeit ticket was found with a person near the venue. He added that questioning suggested the ticket had been sold by someone operating outside the stadium, prompting the Cyber Cell Lucknow and the Sushant Golf City police team to conduct an operation that led to the arrests.
The officer further stated that the four arrested individuals are residents of Durg district in Chhattisgarh. With that action, police underlined their focus on preventing technology-enabled ticket fraud from affecting matchday crowds.
On the field, LSG delivered a clinical performance despite rain disrupting the evening, defeating RCB by nine runs under the DLS method in a reduced 19-over contest. The win kept LSG’s playoff hopes alive and snapped a six-match losing streak that had been weighing on their campaign.
LSG posted 209/3 in the shortened game, with Mitchell Marsh setting the tone in emphatic fashion. Marsh struck 111 off 56 balls to dominate the innings, while Rishabh Pant contributed a brisk unbeaten 32 off just 10 deliveries as LSG built a total that proved difficult to chase in the revised framework.
RCB’s chase began poorly as Virat Kohli was dismissed for a duck and Jacob Bethell also departed early. Prince Yadav provided an important breakthrough spell, finishing with figures of 3/33, but RCB still fought back with a composed 61 from Rajat Patidar. Late momentum came from cameos by Tim David, Romario Shepherd and Krunal Pandya, yet the visitors couldn’t quite cross the line in the final over as Digvesh Rathi held his nerve for LSG.
With this result, Lucknow’s nine-run DLS victory not only ended their losing run but also delivered their first home success of the IPL 2026 season—while the police crackdown ensured attention remained on both the cricket and the safety of fans attending matches.
