Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru pulled off a thrilling two-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in a nail-biting IPL 2026 clash in Raipur on Sunday. The dramatic last-ball victory not only pushed RCB to the top of the points table but also ended Mumbai’s hopes of reaching the playoffs.
Chasing 167 on a difficult pitch at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, RCB crossed the finish line on the very last ball of the match. The side needed 15 runs in the final over, bowled by Raj Angad Bawa, and experienced pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar smashed a crucial six under pressure before the winning runs were completed off the final delivery.
The star of the chase was Krunal Pandya, who played a gritty knock of 73 runs off 46 balls despite battling cramps late in the innings. His innings included five sixes and four boundaries and kept RCB alive after the team had slipped to 39/3 inside the powerplay.
Earlier in the innings, Mumbai bowlers made an excellent start. Deepak Chahar removed Virat Kohli for a duck and later dismissed Devdutt Padikkal as RCB struggled early on. Corbin Bosch also chipped in with important wickets, putting Mumbai in control.
However, Krunal Pandya steadied the innings alongside Jacob Bethell before taking charge in the death overs. A dropped catch in the 18th over proved costly for Mumbai, as Krunal capitalized on the chance and smashed two big sixes to swing the match back in RCB’s favor.
After being invited to bat first, the Mumbai Indians managed to score 166/7 in their 20 overs despite regular wickets falling throughout the innings. Tilak Varma scored a fighting half-century, but Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s brilliant spell of 4/23 kept Mumbai from posting a bigger total. The pitch offered uneven bounce and assistance to fast bowlers, which RCB used effectively throughout the innings.
With this win, RCB moved to the top of the IPL 2026 standings with 14 points from 11 matches, while the Mumbai Indians became one of the first teams to be officially knocked out of playoff contention this season.