Boy, oh boy. What a Sunday night it was in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, and we all have to thank the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and the Mumbai Indians for giving us possibly the game of the tournament so far. The thrilling encounter went down to the wire with RCB, the defending champions, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat to register a two-wicket win to move to the top of the table. With this loss, the Mumbai Indians were officially eliminated from the playoff race as well.
The fixture had no business going down to the last ball, considering RCB were just asked to chase just 167 in 20 overs. However, Corbin Bosch’s inspired four-wicket haul kept the Mumbai Indians in the contest. The match kept swinging one way or the other, and towards the end, it seemed that RCB would seal the deal, but Krunal Pandya’s dismissal on 73 in the 18th over once again made the five-time champions Mumbai favourites.
The equation came down to 15 needed off the final over, and youngster Raj Angad Bawa was asked to do the difficult job. The pressure clearly showed on the all-rounder as he dished out one no-ball and four wides. However, the equation was still in Mumbai’s favour with RCB needing nine runs for the win off the final three balls with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Rasikh Salam Dar in the middle.
No one could have anticipated what came next. Bhuvneshwar, who had already taken four wickets in the match, managed to get a wide yorker away for a six, bringing the equation down to 3 off 2 balls. He took a single next and two were needed off the final over.
The final delivery saw Dar hitting the ball straight towards Bawa, but the pacer failed to collect the ball, and the two RCB batters managed to run two to seal a win for the defending champions. The throw came in from the deep, and Mumbai Indians wicketkeeper Ryan Rickelton took the bails off, but Dar’s dive had ensured he made his ground.
Contrasting emotions
As soon as the ‘not out’ decision flashed on the big screen, RCB’s talisman Virat Kohli was seen charging onto the ground and jumping on Krunal. Even skipper Rajat Patidar couldn’t keep calm.
On the other hand, there were completely contrasting emotions on the Mumbai side as wicketkeeper-batter Rickelton threw the ball onto the ground after the franchise failed to register a win and eventually crashed out of the top-four race.
After the win, Bhuvneshwar and Rasikh also hugged each other in the middle, and eventually, the two were surrounded by their teammates. On the other hand, the Mumbai Indians players such as Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah looked dejected and shell-shocked.
What happened in the match?
In the match, RCB skipper Rajat Patidar won the toss. Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s four-wicket haul restricted the Mumbai Indians to 166/7. Tilak Varma was the top-scorer for the five-time champions as he returned with a 57-run knock.
RCB’s chase then got off to a horrendous start as Kohli got out for a duck yet again. The franchise kept losing wickets at regular intervals, but Krunal’s fighting 73-run knock ensured a win for the defending champions, and this victory helped RCB get to the top of the points table.
