In a thrilling last-ball IPL match in Raipur on Sunday, Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeated Mumbai Indians by two wickets to eliminate the five-time champions from the playoffs.
Chasing 167, Krunal Pandya responded with a valiant 46-ball 73, but RCB needed 15 from the final six balls. After Bhuvneshwar Kumar hit a six, Rasikh Salam Dar scored the winning runs.
Corbin Bosch (4/26) and Deepak Chahar (2/33) shared six wickets for MI.
Earlier, Royal Challengers Bengaluru restricted Mumbai Indians to 166/7 thanks to a brilliant 4/23 from Bhuvneshwar Kumar despite a resolute 57 from Tilak Varma.
Senior Indian seamer Bhuvneshwar made the most of the conditions by returning 4-0-23-4 on a ground full of cracks and unpredictable bounce for fast bowlers, including a three-wicket burst to put his side ahead.
Ryan Rickelton (2), Rohit Sharma (22), and stand-in captain Suryakumar Yadav (0) were all dismissed by Bhuvneshwar as he swept through MI’s top order, leaving them struggling at 28/3 early on.
To their credit, however, Naman Dhir (47) and Tilak (57 off 42 balls; 3x4s, 2x6s) dug in deep for a determined 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket, laying the groundwork for an at-par total on a pitch that had the batters work hard for their runs throughout.
Another wicket could have totally destroyed a faltering MI, but Tilak also had Suyash Sharma to thank for losing a sitter when he was on nine in the sixth over. Rasikh Salam’s off-pace delivery beat Tilak, and a top edge flew to Suyash at midwicket, where it went through the fielder’s hands for a humiliating drop.
During their fourth-wicket stand, Tilak and Dhir demonstrated tremendous determination to rotate the strike and play the ball according to merit despite coming together in a dangerous situation. Dhir made 47 off 32 balls with five fours and two sixes before being dismissed by a cross-seam delivery that stayed low.
RCB was in a dominating position thanks to an early burst for three wickets from star Indian seamer Bhuvneshwar. This was the 36-year-old’s sixth three-wicket haul in this IPL.
Ryan Rickelton (2), who was playing well, was removed by Bhuvneshwar on the last ball of the first over. At mid-off, the Protea hitter attempted a lofted shot, but extra bounce caused him to hit it in the air and directly to RCB captain Rajat Patidar. Rohit Sharma (22) got off the blocks by sending the ball soaring over the ropes twice in a row after hitting a four off Josh Hazlewood in the next.
Despite being hit for a four past short third in the third over, Bhuvneshwar’s genius was once again on display. Rohit reached for a knuckleball that Bhuvneshwar had floated while moving quickly outside, but he was only able to edge it behind.
Another setback in Suryakumar Yadav’s (0) forgettable IPL season came when he used hard hands against a player who was relatively quicker yet probing outside off. Virat Kohli was ecstatic after making a perfect grab that left MI reeling after a thick edge flew to him.
