Royal Challengers Bengaluru held their nerve in a thrilling last-ball match to knock Mumbai Indians out of IPL 2026 with a dramatic two-run win at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium on Sunday. Chasing 167 on a surface that challenged batsmen throughout, RCB were carried by Krunal Pandya’s fighting 73 and a thrilling final blast from Bhuvneshwar Kumar to seal victory off the final delivery.Early collapse with MI strike in the 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.
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However, Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s sensational spell of 4/23 had earlier penetrated the top order, removing Ryan Rickelton, Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav in quick succession before later returning to dismiss Tilak Varma as well, ensuring that MI were tied for a fighting total despite their middle-order resistance.
The chase began in chaos. Deepak Chahar scored early, removing Virat Kohli for a golden duck in the first over, while Devdutt Padikkal also dropped cheaply as RCB slumped to 24/2. Corbin Bosch then joined the attack and dismissed skipper Rajat Patidar to leave Bengaluru reeling at 47/3 at the end of the power play.At that point, Mumbai were firmly in front. Jasprit Bumrah kept things tight, Bosch made the odd bounce, and the slow pitch made scoring difficult.
Jacob Bethel tried to patch things up with a 27-year-old patient, but the real transformation came through Krunal Pandya.Krunal Pandya is leading the RCB attackKrunal absorbed the pressure first, then gradually counterattacked. He used the angles intelligently, sweeping powerfully against Willjack and M Ghazanfar, and targeting the straight boundaries with increasing confidence. His towering six over long-on off Ghazanfar created a vital stand with Bethell and brought the momentum back to RCB’s path.Even as wickets fell around him, Krunal kept fighting, visibly suffering from cramps but refusing to slow down. His calculated knock against Bosh and Ghazanfar ensured that RCB stayed within reach of the target.Bosh and Bumrah drag MI back into controlHowever, Mumbai continued to strike back through Bosh, who produced a brilliant score of 4/26, including the first wicket to remove Bethel and later a double over to dismiss Jitesh Sharma and Tim David. Bumrah’s penultimate over was equally stifling, leaving RCB needing 15 off the last six balls.The ultimate drama The final match turned into chaos. A wide, off-the-ball pass from Raj Bawa gave RCB hope, but they responded by removing Romario Sheppard, pushing Mumbai back to the top. This brought Bhuvneshwar Kumar to the end.Bhuvneshwar, earlier the star with the ball, then delivered the crucial moment with the bat. After escaping a penalty, Bawa shot over deep cover to fire a stunning six, before calmly chipping away one to leave two from the final ball.Salam Dar’s head hit the ball straight and the batsmen completed the second over with a desperate leap, sparking wild celebrations in the RCB camp.End of the road for Mumbai, complete win for RCBFor Mumbai, it was a heartbreaking end despite a strong individual performance. For RCB, this was a victory built on the resilience, determination of Krunal Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s all-round brilliance in one of the greatest thrillers of the season.