Krunal Pandya delivered an unforgettable performance as Royal Challengers Bengaluru squeezed past Mumbai Indians in a heart-stopping final-ball encounter in Raipur on Sunday. This defeat sealed MI’s exit from playoff contention. RCB found themselves in deep trouble after slumping to 39 for 3 within 5.1 overs. Krunal anchored the innings with a brilliant 73 from 46 balls, keeping one end secure. His dismissal seemed to swing momentum toward Mumbai Indians, but RCB maintained their composure through to the final delivery to secure victory. They required two runs from the last ball and successfully obtained them. Previously, Tilak Varma crafted a 42-ball 57, though Bhuvneshwar Kumar claimed four wickets as RCB limited MI to 166 for 7 across 20 overs. Asked to bat first, MI stumbled to 28 for 3 within three overs. Naman Dhir (47) and Tilak combined for 82 runs from 57 deliveries to stabilize the innings, but their departures left MI struggling for runs as RCB’s bowling attack effectively contained them. Bhuvneshwar finished with impressive figures of 4 for 23. RCB beats Mumbai Indians in final-ball finish to lead points table.
TOSS-
Royal Challengers Bengaluru won the toss and elected to bowl first.
PLAYING XI –
Mumbai Indians (Playing XI):
Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton(w), Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Will Jacks, Raj Bawa, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, AM Ghazanfar
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI):
Virat Kohli, Jacob Bethell, Rajat Patidar(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Rasikh Salam Dar
MUMBAI INDIANS-
RCB’s bowling choice appeared justified immediately as Bhuvneshwar Kumar delivered another devastating new-ball spell. His precise lines, combined with help from surface cracks, sent three MI batsmen back to the pavilion inside three overs. Ryan Rickelton’s lofted drive attempt caught the top edge. Rohit Sharma, after smashing Josh Hazlewood for 18 runs, fell victim to a knuckle-ball and edged to the wicket-keeper. Suryakumar Yadav’s struggles persisted as he nicked an away-swinging delivery and departed for a golden duck.
Naman Dhir offered solid support from the opposite end. With just 53 runs scored during the Powerplay, MI desperately needed acceleration. However, with deliveries behaving unpredictably – some bouncing high, others staying low – attempting big shots proved challenging. Both Dhir and Tilak batted intelligently, selected their aggressive strokes wisely, and managed 49 runs from the subsequent six overs.
As their partnership developed, Dhir grew more astute in identifying scoring opportunities and struck consecutive boundaries off Rasikh to increase the tempo. However, while attempting a third straight boundary, he missed a cross-seam delivery that stayed low and shattered his stumps.
Though Will Jacks and Raj Bawa each found a boundary, Tilak carried most of the scoring responsibility as he surpassed his fifty. When Bhuvneshwar returned for his final over and dismissed Tilak, MI’s boundary flow dried up completely. Hazlewood and Rasikh concluded the innings with two economical overs, as Bawa, Deepak Chahar, and Corbin Bosch failed to make meaningful contributions.
ROYAL CHALLENGERS BENGALURU-
Despite RCB finding three boundaries in the first over, Virat Kohli’s dismissal to a delivery that gripped the surface suggested scoring wouldn’t come easily. Devdutt Padikkal fell to an exceptional Deepak Chahar delivery, and by the Powerplay’s end, even Rajat Patidar had departed – caught by a delivery that bounced unexpectedly high, taking a top-edge from his hesitant stroke.
A 55-run partnership spanning 42 balls between Krunal Pandya and Jacob Bethell provided the innings backbone that Tilak and Dhir had earlier supplied for MI. On this demanding surface, they calculated their aggression shrewdly, most notably targeting AM Ghazanfar, who conceded 21 runs across two overs.
With pacers proving more effective on this pitch, MI made a questionable decision including Raghu Sharma instead of an extra quick like Shardul Thakur, who remained available. While the spinner went unused, Bawa received responsibility to create impact with his medium pace. This strategy backfired spectacularly. He was hammered for 16 runs, leaving RCB requiring just 57 runs from the final six overs – with three of those needing to be bowled by spinners or Bawa.
With 30 needed from 16 balls and MI forced into another spin over, Krunal had freedom to attempt big hits. He slogged Ghazanfar’s delivery but mistimed it. Dhir and Tilak converged for the catch, with Dhir pulling back for a relay attempt. Tilak wasn’t prepared to collect it. An argument erupted between them before the ball returned to the keeper. With Krunal suffering cramps, neither attempted a run, while heated discussions occurred between RCB’s think-tank, Virat Kohli, and the umpires beyond the boundary regarding whether Dhir had touched the ropes before releasing the ball.
Despite battling hamstring discomfort, Krunal launched two more sixes from the next three deliveries. A third nearly cleared the ropes off the over’s final ball, but Tilak compensated for his earlier mistake with an excellent solo boundary catch.
Jasprit Bumrah bowled a magnificent 19th over, but giving Bawa the final over to defend 15 runs proved expensive. Instructed to bowl wide yorkers from around the wicket, he consistently missed his lines and even delivered a no-ball. When he dismissed Romario Shepherd off the third legal delivery, MI seemed in control, with RCB needing 9 from 3 balls and numbers 9 and 10 at the crease. However, Bhuvneshwar produced another magical moment, carving the ball over deep extra cover for six. Requiring two from the final ball, Rasikh hit straight back to the bowler, who deflected it toward mid-on, allowing the batters to scramble the winning runs.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indians 166/7 in 20 overs [Tilak Varma 57 (47), Naman Dhir 47 (32); Bhuvneshwar Kumar 4-23, Romario Shepherd 1-18] lost to Royal Challengers Bengaluru 167/8 in 20 overs [Krunal Pandya 73 (46), Jacob Bethell 27 (27); Corbin Bosch 4-26, Jasprit Bumrah 0-20] by 2 wickets.
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