BENGALURU, India, April 15 (Reuters) - ⁠Veteran batter Virat Kohli and fast bowler Rasikh Dar led Royal Challengers Bengaluru ⁠to a comfortable five-wicket win over struggling Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian ‌Premier League on Wednesday.

Kohli anchored the 147-run chase with authority alongside captain Rajat Patidar as Bengaluru sealed victory in front of a packed M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in only 15.1 overs.

Put in to bat, Lucknow struggled on ​a batting-friendly surface, crawling to 35-1 in the powerplay before ⁠being bundled out for 146.

Defending champions ⁠Bengaluru never looked troubled as the 37-year-old Kohli made a fluent 49, including six fours ⁠and ‌a six.

Kohli led Bengaluru to 60-1 in the powerplay before Patidar punished the Lucknow attack to add 27 runswith a lively 23-run cameo from Jitesh Sharma ⁠helping complete the chase.

Kohli did not field after Bengaluru decided ​to introduce him as an ‌impact player due to injury.

"I'm still not 100%. My knee was a bit ⁠sore last game. ​I've been under the weather for four or five days now," said Kohli, the leading IPL run-scorer this season.

"I was happy with my intensity. I would have liked to carry on and finish ⁠the game off."