ROYAL Challengers Bangalore beat Lucknow Super Giants by 18 runs to claim their fifth win in the Indian Premier League.

Virat Kohli hit 31 from 30 balls and Faf du Plessis struck 44 off 40 to help Bangalore post 126-9 in Lucknow.

Lucknow captain KL Rahul walked off injured in the first innings but returned in the final over in a bid to help his side recover.

But needing 23 from the final over, Lucknow fell short at 108 all out.

Both teams are level on 10 points but Lucknow, who are ahead on net run-rate, have dropped down to third place while Bangalore have moved up to fifth.

Kohli and Du Plessis shared the highest partnership of the match, scoring 62 off 54 balls before the Indian batter was stumped off Ayush Badoni.

Naveen-ul-Haq’s three-wicket spell dismissed Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma and Mohammed Siraj as the visitors fell from 114-6 to 121-9 in the space of two overs.

In reply, Lucknow struggled to capitalise on their home advantage and were 0-1 in the first over when Kyle Mayers was caught off India’s Mohammed Siraj.

Ayush Badoni and Krunal Pandya shared a partnership off 19 off 19 balls before they were both caught out by Kohli.

Lucknow were 34-4 after losing four wickets in the powerplay but Marcus Stoinis and Krishnappa Gowtham gave their fans some hope when their partnership added 27 to the total.

But when Naveen was caught off Josh Hazlewood (2-15) to bring the injured skipper to the crease, the game seemed to be over.

Lucknow needed 23 from the final over but Rahul struggled to run between the wickets and saw Amit Mishra caught off Hazlewood with the penultimate ball of the match.(BBC Sport).