IPL2026; Bhuvneshwar, Krunal Star as RCB Survive Mumbai Scare to Go Top of the Table


 Royal Challengers Bengaluru turned a comfortable chase into a nerve-wracking thriller but eventually held their nerve to defeat Mumbai Indians by 2 wickets and climb to the top of the IPL points table. While the victory almost secured RCB’s playoff berth, Mumbai’s defeat officially ended their hopes of qualifying.

The match belonged to Krunal Pandya, who produced a fighting knock under immense pressure despite struggling with an injury. Battling on virtually one leg, Krunal guided RCB through the tense chase before Rasikh Salam completed the winning runs off the final ball in dramatic fashion.

Earlier, Bhuvneshwar Kumar once again proved that age is just a number. The 36-year-old swing master dismantled Mumbai’s batting line-up with a brilliant four-wicket haul and moved to the top of the Purple Cap standings with 21 wickets this season. Exploiting the cracks on the Raipur pitch beautifully, Bhuvneshwar gave RCB the perfect start after captain Rajat Patidar elected to bowl first.

He struck in the second over by dismissing Ryan Rickelton and soon removed Rohit Sharma (22) and Suryakumar Yadav off consecutive deliveries. Both batters fell in similar fashion as Mumbai suddenly found themselves in deep trouble.

Naman Dhir and Tilak Varma revived the innings with a crucial 82-run partnership. Naman scored 47 before being bowled by Rasikh Salam, while Tilak made 57 before Bhuvneshwar returned to dismiss him. Will Jacks and Raj Bawa failed to contribute, and Mumbai eventually finished on a below-par 166. Apart from Bhuvneshwar’s four wickets, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salam and Romario Shepherd chipped in with one wicket each.

Chasing 167 looked straightforward initially, but Mumbai’s bowlers had other plans. Deepak Chahar produced immediate swing and dismissed Virat Kohli for a duck off the very first ball. Kohli registered his second consecutive duck, adding more pressure on RCB. Chahar soon removed Devdutt Padikkal, while Corbin Bosch used the extra bounce effectively to dismiss Rajat Patidar.

Jacob Bethell scored a slow-paced 27 at a strike rate of 100, which further increased the pressure on Bengaluru. Jitesh Sharma (18) failed to convert his start once again, and Bosch struck twice in an over by also dismissing Tim David. Just like Bhuvneshwar earlier, Bosch finished with four wickets to keep Mumbai alive in the contest.

But Krunal Pandya stood apart from everyone else. With his brother Hardik Pandya unavailable due to injury, Krunal stepped up magnificently. While most batters struggled on the surface, he looked completely in control. After a cautious start, he shifted gears brilliantly and kept RCB in the hunt with fearless strokeplay.

Despite suffering an injury midway through his innings, Krunal continued to attack and smashed 73 off 46 balls with four boundaries and five sixes. His heroic effort took the game deep before the final over produced pure drama.

Suryakumar Yadav handed the ball to 23-year-old Raj Bawa for the last over. What followed was absolute chaos — wides, a no-ball, Romario Shepherd’s wicket and huge pressure moments. Even after Bhuvneshwar Kumar smashed a six, RCB still needed two runs off the final delivery. Rasikh Salam narrowly escaped a run-out chance and completed the winning runs as Bengaluru sealed a thrilling two-wicket victory.

With 14 points from 11 matches, RCB now sit comfortably at the top of the table with one foot firmly in the playoffs.

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