Royal Challengers Bengaluru posted an 18-run triumph over Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede on Sunday in the IPL 2026 fixture between the sides to bring up their third win in four games.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya stated that five-time champions need to address a couple of issues moving forward in order to fight for a place in the playoffs after early struggles.
“We conceded way too many as well. Last couple of games, as a bowling unit and as a batting unit, we have been catching up. Really need to reflect and what best we can do, and how we can get the momentum we require,” he said.
Mumbai won the toss and captain Hardik Pandya opted to bowl first, but RCB flew out of the blocks as Kohli and Salt smashed 70 runs in the powerplay. Salt raced to a rapid
fifty, first targeting Mitch Santner and then deepening Mumbai’s woes by attacking Mayank Markande to further lift the scoring rate.
“A lot of things need a re-think. But we have to see other options we can have, with the bat and the ball. We need to still bat well and bowl well. If you do that, irrespective of the toss we should be fine,” he said.
“We are speaking about and talking about how to get some momentum in the powerplay. We are trying to catch up. We will see what we can do in the next game.
Kohli then took Bengaluru past 100 with a boundary, while Salt kept dominating, scoring freely across the ground. Shardul Thakur finally broke the partnership by dismissing the England batter, but skipper Rajat Patidar walked in with clear attacking intent, unloading a series of big hits on the MI bowlers.
Kohli brought up his half-century from 38 balls before falling to Pandya, bringing Tim David to the middle. Patidar soon reached his own fifty with a boundary, only to be dismissed by Santner. David stayed unbeaten on 34 from 16 deliveries, guiding RCB to a formidable total.
RCB managed to limit MI to a total of 222 runs for the loss of five-wickets as Sherfane Rutherford’s fighting 71-run knock went in vain.
“When we got him, it was always exciting for us, we knew the potential and power he has. The way he batted, it gives us extra cushion and confidence,” he said.
Suyash Sharma picked up two wickets as he removed Ryan Rickelton for 37 and Tilak Verma for 1, while Jacob Duffy, Rashik Salam and Krunal Pandya registered a wicket each.
