Royal Challengers Bengaluru held their nerve in a last-ball thriller to knock Mumbai Indians out of IPL 2026 with a dramatic two-wicket win at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium on Sunday. Chasing 167 on a surface that challenged batters throughout, RCB were carried by Krunal Pandya’s fighting 73 and a sensational finishing burst from Bhuvneshwar Kumar to seal victory off the final delivery.Early collapse as MI strike in powerplayMumbai Indians posted 166/7 after a strong recovery led by Tilak Varma’s fluent 57 and Naman Dhir’s 47, which helped them rebuild after a disastrous start.
However, Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s sensational spell of 4/23 had earlier ripped through the top order, removing Ryan Rickelton, Rohit Sharma, and Suryakumar Yadav in quick succession before returning later to dismiss Tilak Varma as well, ensuring MI were restricted to a fighting total despite their middle-order resistance.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 stage, Mumbai were firmly on top. Jasprit Bumrah kept things tight, Bosch extracted awkward bounce, and the sluggish pitch made scoring difficult. Jacob Bethell tried to steady things with a patient 27, but the real shift came through Krunal Pandya.Krunal Pandya leads RCB’s fightbackKrunal first absorbed pressure, then gradually counterattacked. He used the angles cleverly, swept aggressively against Will Jacks and AM Ghazanfar, and targeted the straight boundary with increasing confidence. His towering six over wide long-on off Ghazanfar brought up a vital stand with Bethell and swung momentum back RCB’s way.Even as wickets fell around him, Krunal kept fighting, visibly struggling with cramps but refusing to slow down. His calculated hitting against Bosch and Ghazanfar ensured RCB stayed within reach of the target.Bosch and Bumrah drag MI back into controlMumbai, however, kept responding through Bosch, who produced a brilliant 4/26, including a wicket-maiden that removed Bethell and later double strikes to dismiss Jitesh Sharma and Tim David. Bumrah’s penultimate over was equally suffocating, leaving RCB needing 15 off the last six balls.Final-over drama The final over turned chaotic. A wide and a no-ball from Raj Bawa gave RCB hope, but he struck back by removing Romario Shepherd, pushing Mumbai back on top. That brought Bhuvneshwar Kumar to the crease.Bhuvneshwar, earlier the star with the ball, then delivered the defining moment with the bat. After surviving a wide bouncer, he smashed Bawa over deep cover for a stunning six, before calmly taking a single to leave two needed off the last ball.Rasikh Salam Dar struck it straight back and the batters completed the second run with a desperate dive, sparking wild celebrations in the RCB camp.End of the road for Mumbai, statement win for RCBFor Mumbai, it marked a heartbreaking end despite strong individual performances. For RCB, it was a victory built on resilience, Krunal Pandya’s grit, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s all-round brilliance in one of the season’s greatest thrillers.
