Royal Challengers Bengaluru edged out Mumbai Indians in a nail-biting IPL 2026 contest on Sunday, winning by two wickets in a last-ball finish at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium. Bengaluru, tasked with chasing 167 on a tricky pitch, found its way through late pressure thanks to Krunal Pandya’s determined 73 and a match-winning flurry from Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who sealed the game off the final delivery.
Early collapse as MI strike in powerplay
Mumbai Indians posted 166/7, with Tilak Varma playing a fluent knock of 57 and Naman Dhir contributing 47 as the innings steadied after a rough beginning. Still, Bengaluru’s breakthrough had come earlier: Bhuvneshwar Kumar produced a spell of 4/23 that dismantled the top order, striking in quick succession to remove Ryan Rickelton, Rohit Sharma, and Suryakumar Yadav. He returned to complete another key dismissal by getting Tilak Varma out as well, leaving MI with a competitive but gettable total despite resistance from the middle overs.
The chase started in disarray for Bengaluru. Deepak Chahar struck right away, sending Virat Kohli back for a golden duck in the opening over, and Devdutt Padikkal followed soon after as the hosts slipped to 24/2. Corbin Bosch then joined the pressure, removing RCB captain Rajat Patidar to push Bengaluru into a deeper hole at 47/3 by the end of the powerplay.
From there, Mumbai looked firmly in control. Jasprit Bumrah kept the scoring under check, Bosch found awkward bounce, and the surface continued to play slowly, making timing difficult. Jacob Bethell tried to halt the slide with a measured 27, but the real turning point arrived through Krunal Pandya.
Krunal Pandya leads RCB’s fightback
Krunal absorbed the pressure first, then began to build his own rhythm. He read the angles well, sweeping with intent against Will Jacks and AM Ghazanfar, and increasingly attacked the straight boundary as confidence grew. A huge six down the long-on region off Ghazanfar gave Bengaluru a crucial lift, and it helped forge an important partnership with Bethell while shifting momentum back in RCB’s favour.
Even as wickets tumbled around him, Krunal kept pushing forward. He was visibly affected by cramps, but he refused to lose his strike or slow down. His carefully chosen blows against Bosch and Ghazanfar kept Bengaluru within touching distance of the target.
Bosch and Bumrah drag MI back into control
Mumbai refused to let the chase drift away, responding strongly through Bosch. He struck with a superb 4/26, including a wicket-maiden that sent Bethell back, and then followed it with double blows to account for Jitesh Sharma and Tim David. Bumrah then tightened the screws in the penultimate over, leaving RCB needing 15 runs off the final six balls.
Final-over drama
The last over unfolded in chaos. Raj Bawa started with a wide and then overstepped with a no-ball, giving Bengaluru an opening. He struck again by removing Romario Shepherd, which swung the contest back towards Mumbai. That set up Bhuvneshwar Kumar at the crease with everything on the line.
Bhuvneshwar, who had earlier starred with the ball, delivered the key moment with the bat. After surviving a wide bouncer, he launched Bawa over deep cover for a dramatic six. Then, with composure, he took a single to set up the finish—two runs required from the last ball.
Rasikh Salam Dar struck straight back immediately, and the two batters completed the second run with a desperate dive, triggering wild celebrations in the RCB camp.
End of the road for Mumbai, statement win for RCB
For Mumbai, it was a painful exit despite strong individual contributions. For Bengaluru, the win came from resilience—powered by Krunal Pandya’s grit and Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s impact with the bat in one of the season’s most thrilling finishes.
