Royal Challengers Bengaluru climbed to the top of the IPL 2026 points table with their 2-wicket win over Mumbai Indians at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur.
Krunal Pandya’s game-saving half-century after Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s four-fer helped RCB to the target of 167 to extinguish any chance of MI’s search for a playoff spot.
Pandya, who was crucial in RCB’s title run last season, has come in clutch this year too and he jested about staying hydrated after shrugging off cramps Enroute to his match-winning fifty.
“I love tough situations as I am always prepared. I look forward to doing it when things are tough,” Pandya said.
“I was cramping a lot. It started from calf, went to glutes and went to my back. Now onwards I guess
I will take of lot of fluids and food,” he added.
MI stumbled early as Bhuvneshwar removed Ryan Rickleton for 2 off 4, then dismissed Rohit Sharma for 22 off 10. He made it three by sending stand-in skipper Suryakumar Yadav back for a golden duck. Naman Dhir and Tilak Verma rebuilt with an 82-run partnership before Naman fell to Rashik Salam for 47 off 32. Romario Shepherd then removed Will Jacks for a run-a-ball 10.
Tilak reached his fifty before Bhuvneshwar dismissed him to complete his four-fer. Raj Bawa contributed 16 off 14 before falling to Josh Hazlewood, while Corbin Bosch and Deepak Chahar finished unbeaten on 5 and 1 as MI struggled to 166.
RCB’s chase began poorly as Deepak Chahar dismissed Kohli for a duck and then Devdutt Padikkal, putting RCB under pressure. Corbin Bosch tightened the screws further by removing Patidar for 8 and Jacob Bethell for 27. Krunal Pandya anchored the innings as Bosch continued his spree, dismissing Jitesh Sharma (18) and Tim David for 0. Krunal’s lone-hand effort of 73 kept RCB in the hunt until he was removed by Allah Ghazanfar.
In the end, Bhuvneshwar and Rashik saw RCB home with a double off the final ball, clinching a thrilling win and mathematically knocking MI out of playoff contention.
“The shot Bhuvi played was the shot of the match. It was a wicket where you had to play cricketing shots. You had to get into good positions and you had to apply and grind,” Pandya said praising his teammate’s six that turned the tide of the game.
Krunal also recalled his time in MI, with a special tribute to IPL legend Kieron Pollard, who the southpaw shared the dressing room with for a prolonged period.
“Polly is my big brother. I had my best six years at MI, the Pandya brothers and Pollard, we were the engine room. He is a terrific human being and GOAT of this format,” the all-rounder said.
“Won so many trophies and so many games. As Polly says, you can’t keep a good man down,” he concluded.
