Two big-name franchises produced a rollercoaster contest in Raipur, where the match swung repeatedly before finishing in a last-ball thriller. Mumbai Indians were restricted to 166/7 by Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s four-wicket spell, and Royal Challengers Bengaluru then built their chase through Krunal Pandya’s 46-ball 73 on a surface that offered plenty of difficulty. Even so, RCB’s progress was not smooth—errors and momentum shifts from Mumbai kept the contest alive—until the No. 9 and No. 10 batters helped RCB cross the line off the final ball.
Brief scores and the match outcome
- Mumbai Indians: 166/7 in 20 overs (Tilak Varma 57 off 47, Naman Dhir 47 off 32)
- Key bowling for RCB: Bhuvneshwar Kumar 4/23, Romario Shepherd 1/18
- Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 167/8 in 20 overs (Krunal Pandya 73 off 46, Jacob Bethell 27 off 27)
- Key bowling for MI: Corbin Bosch 4/26, Jasprit Bumrah 0/20
- Result: RCB won by 2 wickets
How Mumbai’s innings collapsed in the powerplay
RCB’s decision to bowl looked immediately justified as Bhuvneshwar Kumar struck early again with the new ball. Tight execution, plus movement and uneven bounce from the pitch, helped him squeeze Mumbai’s top order. Within three overs, three batters had already walked back.
- Ryan Rickelton’s attempted lofted shot produced the top edge.
- Rohit Sharma, who had previously taken apart Josh Hazlewood for 18 runs, was trapped by a knuckle-ball style delivery and edged it to the wicketkeeper.
- Suryakumar Yadav’s poor run continued as he nicked an away-seaming ball and was dismissed for a first-ball duck.
The damage could have been even worse for Mumbai in the opening phase. In the final over of the powerplay, Tilak Varma—batting on 9—was beaten by Rasikh Salam’s slower ball, top-edging a pull to Suyash Sharma at mid-wicket, only for the fielder to drop an easy chance. Earlier in the same over, Romario Shepherd overran while trying to stop a shot and conceded four straightforward runs. Those moments, combined with a steady finish, allowed Tilak to post a 42-ball 57 and carry MI to a competitive total on a tough track.
Tilak’s support, then the chase starts to shape
Tilak was not entirely alone at the other end. Naman Dhir offered the kind of partner innings Mumbai needed after scoring only 53 runs in the powerplay and seeking a burst. With some balls rising and others staying low, going big was not the simplest option, so Dhir and Tilak picked their attacking moments carefully and still managed 49 runs across the next six overs.
As their time at the crease stretched, Dhir started finding scoring areas more cleverly, including two consecutive boundaries off Rasikh. But the attempt to extend the pattern with a third straight boundary backfired when he failed to pick up a cross-seam delivery that stayed low and knocked over his stumps.
After that, the batting burden returned heavily to Tilak. Will Jacks and Raj Bawa each contributed a boundary, but scoring largely depended on Tilak reaching his half-century and pushing the innings forward. Once Bhuvneshwar came back for his last over and removed Tilak, MI’s boundary flow effectively froze. Hazlewood and Rasikh then closed out the innings with two quiet overs, while Bawa, Deepak Chahar, and Corbin Bosch could not add meaningful damage.
RCB’s chase began with signs of trouble as well. Even though they found three boundaries in the opening over, Virat Kohli was dismissed off a delivery that held up slightly—an early reminder that runs would not come freely. Devdutt Padikkal fell to Deepak Chahar’s unplayable pace, and by the time the powerplay ended, Rajat Patidar too was sent back after a ball that bounced more than expected and carried his attempted top-edge.
Krunal Pandya’s platform and the turning points
RCB did not get sustained momentum at first. Still, a 55-run partnership off 42 balls between Krunal Pandya and Jacob Bethell provided the spine for the chase, similar to the job Tilak and Dhir had done for MI. On a difficult wicket, the pair attacked intelligently—most importantly by pressuring AM Ghazanfar, who was hit for 21 runs in two overs.
Corbin Bosch swings the middle overs
Corbin Bosch delivered the first maiden of the season in the middle stage, briefly shifting the contest back toward Mumbai. After Bethell was caught at deep square leg, Bosch continued bowling on the stumps with pace and made it hard for Jitesh Sharma to pick scoring opportunities. Jitesh Sharma chose to survive through the over and look for impact later.
MI then made a tactical selection in response to conditions. Instead of bringing in an extra pacer such as Shardul Thakur, they opted for Raghu Sharma. The spinner was not used, and the responsibility for a decisive swing was handed to Bawa through medium pace. That plan backfired: Bawa was hit for 16 runs, leaving RCB needing only 57 from the last six overs. With three of those overs expected to be spinner/bowling overs, Mumbai also came under wicket pressure and used one of Bumrah’s overs. Bosch then became the accelerator again—Bumrah’s over ended with RCB benefiting from a burst that included two sixes off the first four deliveries. The target reduced to 36 off 26 with six wickets in hand.
MI’s wicket burst and a dramatic missed chance
MI clawed back with another burst of Bosch’s influence. He struck twice in the space of two balls, sending back Jitesh and Tim David on successive deliveries.
The match’s most bizarre dot ball arrived when the chase was still very much alive. With 30 required off 16 balls, Krunal attempted a big hit off Ghazanfar, but mistimed it. Dhir and Tilak converged for the catch, with Dhir pulling it back for a relay. However, Tilak was not set for the final finish, and an argument followed between the two fielders even before the ball was returned. Meanwhile, Krunal was also battling cramps, and neither batter tried for a run. At the same time, heated discussions broke out between the RCB set-up, Virat Kohli, and the umpires beyond the boundary about whether Dhir had touched the rope before releasing the ball.
Despite the confusion, Krunal turned the chance into a positive. He struck two more sixes off the next three deliveries, fighting through that hamstring pain. A third six looked possible off the last ball of the over, but Tilak made amends for his earlier moment with a sharp solo catch at the boundary.
The final over: Bumrah’s spell, Bhuvneshwar’s last-ball magic
Jasprit Bumrah produced a strong 19th over, but the decision to hand Bawa the final over to defend 15 runs proved costly. Bawa was asked to keep the wide yorker line from round the wicket, yet he repeatedly erred with his lengths and even overstepped once. Even so, once Romario Shepherd was dismissed off the third legitimate ball, the game appeared to be in MI’s control: RCB needed 9 off 3 balls with the No. 9 and No. 10 batters in at the crease.
Then Bhuvneshwar Kumar delivered one more moment of brilliance, carving the ball over deep extra cover for a six. With two required from the last ball, Rasikh hit back to the bowler, but the ball deflected toward mid-on and the batters raced for a second run to seal the thriller.
Table implications and next fixtures
- Mumbai Indians suffered their eighth defeat in 11 matches, and their playoff hopes have been ended.
- Royal Challengers Bengaluru moved to the top of the table with their seventh win in 11 games.
RCB will remain in Raipur to face Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday (May 13). Mumbai Indians will travel to Dharamsala to play Punjab Kings on Thursday (May 14).
