Royal Challengers Bengaluru held their nerve for a last-ball thriller Mumbai Indians out of IPL 2026 with a dramatic two-wicket win at the Shaheed Vir Narayan Singh International Stadium on Sunday. Chasing 167 at a level that thoroughly challenged the batsmen, RCB pushed on. Krunal PandyaFrom Fighting 73 and a sensational finishing burst Bhuvneshwar Kumar Sealing the victory on the final delivery.Falling early as MI strike in the powerplayMumbai Indians posted 166/7 after a strong recovery led by Tilak Verma’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 tore apart the top-order earlier, removing Ryan Rickelton, Rohit Sharma, and Surya Kumar Yadav in quick succession and dismissing Tilak Verma before returning later, ensuring that MI were limited to a fighting total despite their middle order.The chase began in chaos. Deepak Chahar removed Virat Kohli for a golden duck in the first over, while Devdutt Padikal also fell cheaply as RCB slipped to 24/2. Corbin Bosch then joined the attack, dismissing skipper Rajat Patidar to leave Bengaluru at 47/3 at the end of the powerplay.At that time, Mumbai was firmly on top. Jasprit Bumrah kept things tight, Bosh produced the odd bounce, and the slow pitch made scoring difficult. Jacob Bethel tried to stabilize things with a patient 27, but the real change came through Krunal Pandya.Krunal Pandya is leading RCB’s fightback.Kronel first absorbed the pressure, then slowly counterattacked. He used the angles smartly, swept aggressively against Will Jacks and AM Ghazanfar, and hit the straight boundary with growing confidence. His massive six over wide long-on off Ghazanfar provided a crucial stand with Bethel and swung the momentum RCB’s way.Even as wickets fell around him, Cronel fought on, visibly struggling with the pain but refusing to slow down. His calculated hitting against Bosh and Ghazanfar ensured that RCB stayed within reach of the target.Bosh and Bumrah regained control of MI.Mumbai, however, kept replying through Bosh, who produced a brilliant 4/26, including a wicket-maiden that removed Bethel and later a double strike to dismiss Jitesh Sharma and Tim David. Bumrah’s final over was equally suffocating, leaving RCB needing 15 runs off the last six balls.Final over drama The final over fell into disarray. A wide and nine balls from Raj Bawa gave RCB hope, but he removed Romario Shepherd to push Mumbai back up. This brought Bhuvneshwar Kumar to the crease.Bhuvneshwar, first the star with the ball, then delivered the decisive moment with the bat. After avoiding a wide bouncer, he hit Bava over deep cover for a brilliant six, before taking a quiet single off the last ball to leave two essential sixes.Rasukh Salam Dar hit it straight back and the batsmen made a desperate dive to complete the second run, prompting wild celebrations in the RCB camp.End of the road for Mumbai, win for Bayan RCBFor Mumbai, it was a heartbreaking finish despite strong individual performances. For RCB, it was a victory based on resilience, Krunal Pandya’s guts and Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s all-round abilities in one of the biggest thrillers of the season.
