IPL 2026: RCB eliminate Mumbai and go top after tense finish

A two-paced, up-and-down pitch in Raipur was the stage for one of the most enthralling contests of IPL 2026, and it ended in the most dramatic of last-ball finishes, with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) breaking a two-match losing streak to go to the top of the table.

In doing so, they ended the playoff hopes of not just Mumbai Indians (MI), their opponents on the night, but also Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).

In the end, the finish defied explanation. With RCB needing two to win off the last ball, Rasikh Salam clipped a near-yorker from Raj Bawa back towards the bowler.

Bawa fumbled, the ball dribbled into the mid-on region, and when Ryan Rickelton collected the throw and broke the wicket at the keeper’s end, Rasikh had just made his ground, diving to complete the second run.

Perhaps the only explanation was that two players did not deserve to be on the losing side. One was Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

He took three wickets in a bewitching new-ball spell, then returned to take out MI’s top scorer at a crucial moment in the death overs, and then, batting at No. 10 with nine runs required from three balls, hit Bawa for a gloriously timed six over the leaping sweeper cover fielder. It was Bhuvneshwar’s first six in the IPL since 2016.

The other was Krunal Pandya. Promoted to No. 5 with RCB 39 for 3 in the sixth over, Krunal took charge of the chase, finding ways to hit boundaries even as everyone around him struggled to middle the ball, and hitting sixes while fighting cramps, and eventually scored 73 off 46 balls. (ESPNcricinfo) 

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