Sachin Tendulkar was left in awe of Krunal Pandya after the spinner’s delivery led to Jos Buttler’s stumping during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL 2026 final against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad on Sunday. (RCB vs GT IPL 2026 LIVE SCORE)
With Buttler and Washington Sundar looking to build a partnership after GT lost Sai Sudharsan (12), Shubman Gill (10) and Nishan Sindhu (20) early, Rajat Patidar decided to send Krunal Pandya in the 13th over.
The RCB spinner was up against Buttler in the first ball and removed the Englishman right away. Building on his side’s early momentum, Pandya sent a fast, wide yorker as he saw Buttler stepping out the whole time. Buttler failed to connect, and wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma completed the stumping. The GT batter left for 19 off 23 balls.
Taking to X, Sachin wrote, “What a fabulous delivery by @krunalpandya24! He watched the batter’s feet until the very last moment before releasing the perfect ball to send him back to the dressing room.”
The match began with RCB skipper Rajat Patidar winning the toss and opting to bowl.
Josh Hazlewood struck early in the third over for RCB in the powerplay, removing GT skipper and opener Shubman Gill, for 10 off eight balls. Receiving a short-length delivery, outside off, Gill tried to short-arm jab it, but ended up lofting it off the bottom half of his bat, and it went over the bowler’s head. Jacob Duffy at mid-on was in good condition but didn’t commit to it. Meanwhile, Patidar ran from mid-off to complete the catch as GT stuttered at 22/1 in 2.2 overs.
Then in the next over, Bhuvneshwar Kumar removed Sai Sudharsan for 12 off 12 balls. Bhuvneshwar sent a short delivery, angled across. Sudharsan should have left it alone. But he ended up top edging it, and Jitesh ran to his right to take the catch. Meanwhile, Rasikh Salam dismissed Nishant Sindhu (20) in the eighth over.
After Buttler’s dismissal, Sundar remained unbeaten, but failed to find any support as batters came and went. Sundar remained unbeaten at 50* off 37 balls, packed with five fours, as GT posted 156/8 in 20 overs. Rasikh Salam took a three-wicket haul for RCB.
