When Royal Challengers Bengaluru needed nine runs off the last three balls, Bhuvneshwar Kumar hit a six over covers off Raj Bawa to bring the equation down to three runs required off the last two deliveries to win the match.
RCB clinched the match by two wickets in a last-ball thriller to knock Mumbai Indians out of the playoff contention. Chasing 167, RCB were in trouble with wickets tumbling at regular interval. Krunal Pandya rose to the occasion by playing a crucial knock of 73 off 46 balls with five sixes and four fours.
“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,” Krunal said.
Krunal suffered from cramps towards the end of his innings, but played a match-winning knock as RCB climbed back to the top of the IPL 2026 points table.
“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.”
Bhuvneshwar, who took three wickets or more for the sixth time in this IPL, said he would remember the six that he hit for a long time.
“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.”
However, RCB skipper Rajat Patidar criticised the top order for not taking charge of the run chase and said his side did not deserve to win the match.
“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.
Mumbai Indians stand-in captain Suryakumar Yadav said he trusted Raj Bawa to defend 15 runs in the final over. Although Bawa gave away a six to Bhuvneshwar Kumar, he also leaked five extra runs, which made the chase easier for RCB.
“He had been practicing that (death bowling) really well and he was a complete different allrounder this year and almost pulled it off for us. But I think we were 10-15 runs short,” Suryakumar said.
