Royal Challengers in Bengaluru, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (AP Image)
Bhuvneshwar Kumar continued his impressive IPL 2026 campaign with another impressive spell for Royal Challengers Bengaluru during their encounter against Mumbai Indians in Raipur on Sunday. The veteran finished with impressive figures of 4/23 from his four overs, once again showing why he is one of the most consistent bowlers of the season.
His spell helped RCB restrict Mumbai to 166/7 on a surface that provided uneven bounce and support to the seamers. Bhuvneshwar struck in the opening by dismissing Ryan Rickleton before coming back for a takedown
Rohit Sharma
With smart joint ball. Suryakumar then brought back Yadav for a first-ball duck to leave MI in early trouble. The RCB seamer completed his four-wicket haul later with a dismissal
Tilak Pharma
who threatened to take Mumbai towards a much larger total with a composed half-century. With this performance, Bhuvneshwar moved to 21 wickets in IPL 2026 and once again climbed to the top of the wicket-taking charts. He currently holds the Purple Cap with an impressive economy rate of 7.47. The spell against MI was also the sixth occasion this season where Bhuvneshwar took a haul of three or more wickets in an innings. Only Harshal Patel has previously achieved this feat in a single IPL season, and he has done so six times in 2021.
IPL 2026 Purple Cap standings after match 54:
| Rank | player | a team | Wicket | Matches | economy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bhuvneshwar Kumar | RCB | 21 | 11 | 7.47 |
| 2 | Anshul Kamboj | CSK | 19 | 11 | 9.20 |
| 3 | Kagiso Rabada | GT | 18 | 11 | 9.36 |
| 4 | Prince Yadav | LSG | 16 | 11 | 8.17 |
| 5 | Ishaan Malinga | Sexual and reproductive health | 16 | 11 | 9.44 |
Bhuvneshwar’s performance has been one of the biggest positives for RCB this season, with the experienced fast bowler repeatedly making crucial breakthroughs both with the new ball and at the death.