Royal Challengers Bengaluru held on to the momentum with a thrilling last-ball performance to knock Mumbai Indians out of IPL 2026 with a stunning two-wicket win at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium on Sunday. Chasing 167 in a field that challenged batsmen all over, RCB were led by Krunal Pandya’s fighting 73 and a stunning burst from Bhuvneshwar Kumar to seal the eventual victory.
Early collapse as MI strike in powerplay
Mumbai Indians posted 166/7 after a strong recovery led by Tilak Varma’s eloquent 57 and Naman Dhir’s 47, which helped them rebuild after a poor start.
However, Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s spell of 4/23 earlier tore through the top order, removing Ryan Rickelton, Rohit Sharma, and Suryakumar Yadav in quick succession before returning later to dismiss Tilak Varma, ensuring MI were restricted to batting despite their middle-order opposition.
The chase began in chaos. Deepak Chahar struck early, removing Virat Kohli for a golden duck in the first over, while Devdutt Padikkal also fell cheaply as RCB slipped to 24/2. Corbin Bosch then joined the attack, dismissing skipper Rajat Patidar to leave Bengaluru reeling at 47/3 at the end of the powerplay.
At that time, Mumbai was very high. Jasprit Bumrah kept things tight, Bosch bowled the wrong bounce, and lazy pitching made scoring difficult. Jacob Bethell tried to straighten things out with the patient 27-year-old, but the real change came with Krunal Pandya.
Krunal Pandya is leading the fight for RCB
Krunal first absorbed the pressure, then slowly countered. He used angles smartly, swept powerfully against Will Jacks and AM Ghazanfar, and steered the straight boundary with growing confidence. His long over six off Ghazanfar produced a crucial stand with Bethell and shifted the momentum back RCB’s way.
Even as wickets fell in his direction, Krunal kept fighting, appearing to suffer from cramps but refusing to slow down. His calculated hits on Bosch and Ghazanfar ensured that RCB stayed on target.
Bosch and Bumrah drag MI into control
Mumbai, however, continued to respond through Bosch, who produced a brilliant 4/26, including a wicket-maiden to dismiss Bethell and later struck twice to dismiss Jitesh Sharma and Tim David. Bumrah’s last over was suffocating, leaving RCB needing 15 off the last six balls.
The ultimate drama
The finale was chaotic. A wide and loose ball from Raj Bawa gave RCB hope, but he hit back by dismissing Romario Shepherd, pushing Mumbai into the lead. That brought Bhuvneshwar Kumar into the open.
Bhuvneshwar, who was earlier a star with the ball, then gave a precise timing with the bat. After surviving a wide ball, he smashed Bawa over deep cover for a beautiful six, before taking one to leave two needed off the last ball.
Rasikh Salam Dar hit it back and the batsmen ended the second run with a desperate dive, sparking wild celebrations in the RCB camp.
At the Mumbai road end, the statement won RCB
For Mumbai, it marked a disappointing end despite strong individual performances. For RCB, it was a victory built on Krunal Pandya’s tenacity, tenacity, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s all-round brilliance in one of the biggest thrillers of the season.
