Mumbai Indians’ IPL 2026 campaign has come to an end, with the franchise once again bowing out without silverware. After winning a fifth league title back in 2020, MI have not managed to lift the trophy since—and over the four seasons that followed, including this year, they failed to even reach the playoffs. On Sunday, their wait for a breakthrough result continued as they were beaten by Royal Challengers Bengaluru by two wickets.
MI’s 166/7 sets a tense chase
Batting first, Mumbai Indians posted 166/7 in their 20 overs. Tilak Varma was the standout for MI, striking 57 to lead the scoring, while Naman Dhir added 47 in support. Despite that foundation, the innings was ultimately not enough as RCB successfully chased the target with late momentum.
- Mumbai Indians made 166/7 in 20 overs.
- Tilak Varma top-scored with 57.
- Naman Dhir contributed 47.
- RCB reached the target on the last ball to win by two wickets.
Krunal’s 73 and the last-ball finish
The chase turned into a dramatic spectacle, with Krunal Pandya delivering a strong finish for RCB. His knock of 73 proved pivotal, and he capped the tension with the timing of the innings as Bengaluru got over the line at the final delivery.
However, the match also featured a crucial moment in the field involving Tilak Varma and Naman Dhir during RCB’s innings. The confusion happened in the 18th over, when Krunal Pandya struck the ball from Allah Ghazanfar toward the long-on boundary.
The boundary mix-up in the 18th over
In that over, Dhir completed the catch near the boundary but was unable to keep his momentum under control and ended up crossing the rope. He managed to get the ball back into play quickly, but Tilak believed the ball was already going for six and did not move to take the relay catch. The resulting verbal exchange between the two batters became animated, and while no run was taken, the episode proved costly in the context of the over.
- The confusion occurred in the 18th over.
- Allah Ghazanfar bowled to Krunal Pandya, who hit toward long-on.
- Naman Dhir took the catch near the boundary but crossed it.
- Dhir threw the ball back in time, but Tilak thought it was already a six and didn’t go for the relay catch.
- No run was taken off the ball, but Krunal went on to strike two sixes in the over before being dismissed.
Murali Kartik reacts to the altercation
Former India batter Murali Kartik said he found the interaction troubling and questioned the situation unfolding mid-match. Speaking on Cricbuzz, Kartik noted that it is difficult to judge details from afar, even for commentators, but added that the moment he saw clearly concerned him.
“It’s a tough one to say. For us to speculate from afar is not the right thing. Even if you are a commentator and are on the ground, you don’t know what exactly is happening. Sometimes, with big teams, when things aren’t going well, the easiest target is something like this. But one thing did upset me,” Kartik said.
He then returned to the catch-and-communication episode, explaining that the altercation was unnecessary even though the batters did not take a run. Kartik stressed that common sense should prevail, especially when a team is under pressure.
“You spoke about the catch that Naman Dhir should have taken – just that interaction at that point in time. It wasn’t needed. Yes, they didn’t take a single. They didn’t take a run because Krunal was cramping at that time. But you don’t need a fight in the middle or a bit of an altercation or argument. As Naman Dhir suggested, you should be throwing the ball. I don’t know whether that’s reflective of anything, but that is something that shouldn’t have happened,” Kartik added.
He further argued that players must avoid disputes at critical moments, particularly near the boundary.
“He added that cricketers need to have common sense. It’s very tough for us to speculate. Yes, there have been a million murmurs going around. Yes, there are things which haven’t happened, and yes, the last three years haven’t gone the way MI would have wanted. But for me, I didn’t want to see what I saw today. All of us are pretty intense on the ground, but at a time where common sense and cricket smarts need to take over,” Kartik said.
At the end, Kartik underlined that two players should not be drawn into an argument when the game is in a decisive phase.
“At a crucial stage, you don’t want two people to have an argument at the end of the boundary rope. You don’t want to see that,” he concluded.
