Bhuvneshwar Kumar played the “shot of the match” at the very end, according to Krunal Pandya on Sunday, as Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeated the Mumbai Indians in a low-scoring thriller by two wickets to eliminate them from the Indian Premier League playoffs in Raipur.
Bhuvneshwar, who had previously produced outstanding figures of 4-0-23-4, struck a six over cover off Raj Bawa to reduce the equation from nine runs needed off the final three balls to three runs required off the final two deliveries.
Pandya’s 73 off 46 balls with five sixes and four fours helped RCB win by two wickets in a thrilling last-ball match.
“The shot Bhuvi played was the shot of the match. It was a wicket where you had to play cricketing shots. You had to get into good positions and you had to apply and grind,” Pandya said.
Despite having cramps toward the conclusion of his innings, Pandya gave RCB a game-winning performance that propelled them to the top of the IPL 2026 points standings.
“It’s fine, (I suffered a) lot of cramps. Now onwards I guess I will take of lot of fluids and food. I was cramping a lot. It started from calf, went to glutes and went to my back. It was something new for me. (But) what matters is those two points. I love tough situations as I am always prepared. I look forward to doing it when things are tough.”
After taking three wickets or more for the sixth time in this IPL, Bhuvneshwar stated he would never forget his six with the bat from this game.
“The six for sure, because I have bowled many times and taken few wickets, but the six, I will enjoy the most,” he said.
Talking about his consistency, Bhuvneshwar said, “Honestly, motivation is a very over-rated word for me. You read some quote or watch a video and get motivated for a few days. That fades away quickly. Discipline keeps me going. My physios help me remain in shape. I think everything depends on the wicket as well. Today the wicket was two-paced.”
“The good thing is that throughout the year I am getting match practice and enough breaks to recharge myself. When you do what you want to do, you feel confident. Crucial two points for us. If we lost that one, we would be under pressure but we did well to get the two points,” he added.
Despite having a deep batting lineup, RCB captain Rajat Patidar claimed his team did not deserve to win since they relied on the tail to finish the job.
“I think the bowlers did a tremendous job restricting them to 166. But to be honest, I don’t think we deserved to win the match because with our batting lineup, we should be chasing this target easily,” he said.
Suryakumar Yadav, the stand-in captain of the Mumbai Indians, expressed confidence in Raj Bawa to win the game in the last over with 15 to defend. In addition to Bhuvneshwar’s six, Bawa also conceded five additional runs.
Additionally, MI made a mistake earlier in the match when they substituted spinner Raghu Sharma for Rohit Sharma, bowling on a wicket where fast bowlers were more effective to use the conditions.
“He had been practicing that (death bowling) really well and he was a complete different all-rounder this year and almost pulled it off for us. But I think we were 10-15 runs short,” Suryakumar said.
