Royal Challengers Bengaluru ended their two-match losing streak with a thrilling two-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur on Sunday. The win was powered by an incisive bowling spell from Bhuvneshwar Kumar and a match-winning knock from Krunal Pandya.
Champions climb to top of table
The defending champions moved to the top of the IPL standings after chasing down 167 in dramatic fashion. Krunal Pandya played a crucial role, combining aggression with anchor duties to slam a gutsy 73 off 46 balls.
Early setbacks in chase
RCB's chase began poorly as Virat Kohli fell for a second successive duck in the opening over. Deepak Chahar struck again to remove Devdutt Padikkal for 12, while captain Rajat Patidar managed only 8. Corbin Bosch added to the slide, leaving RCB at 47 for 3 after the Powerplay.
Krunal then stepped in to steady the innings. The left-hander absorbed pressure early before shifting gears, finding timely boundaries off Will Jacks and Aallah Ghazanfar to keep the required rate in check. Despite losing Jacob Bethell for 26 and enduring Bosch's wicket-maiden in the 13th over, RCB stayed alive through a crucial stand between Krunal and Jitesh Sharma.
Jitesh counterattacks
Jitesh counterattacked against Jasprit Bumrah and Bosch, briefly tilting the momentum in favor of the defending champions. However, RCB wobbled again when Bosch struck twice in successive balls to remove Jitesh for 18 and Tim David, reducing them to 131 for 6.
Krunal, battling cramps, held firm. He smashed two sixes off Ghazanfar in the 18th over before falling for a vital 73. With 15 needed off the final over after a tight Bumrah penultimate over, Bhuvneshwar once again stepped up. After Romario Shepherd's dismissal, the veteran launched Raj Bawa for a six, before Rasikh Salam scrambled back for the winning runs off the final ball.
Bhuvneshwar's brilliant spell
Earlier, Bhuvneshwar had set up the game with a brilliant 4 for 23. Striking in the opening over, he removed Ryan Rickelton for 2 after Patidar made amends for an early drop. He then dismissed Rohit Sharma for 22 with a clever knuckleball and sent back Suryakumar Yadav first ball.
Surya did the captaincy duties again on Sunday as regular skipper Hardik Pandya, who had missed the last game against LSG at Wankhede last week, was still not passed fit by the medical team.
Bhuvi finished the Powerplay with figures of 3 for 17 as MI slipped to 53 for 3. Naman Dhir (47) and Tilak Varma (57) revived the innings with an 82-run stand, but Bhuvneshwar returned to dismiss Tilak in the 18th over, ending the resistance.
Though MI reached 166 for 7, they never broke free, especially in the last two overs, and RCB ensured the total proved just short.
