Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Mumbai Indians captain Suryakumar Yadav’s decision to hand the last over to young Raj Angad Bawa did not go as planned, as Royal Challengers Bengaluru held their nerve in a pulsating last-ball thriller at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium on Sunday. With this win, RCB have knocked Mumbai Indians out of the tournament with a dramatic two-wicket victory.After Jasprit Bumrah’s penultimate over, which went for just three runs and left RCB needing 15 off the final six balls, Suryakumar entrusted Bawa with the responsibility of bowling the final over. The call came despite Allah Ghazanfar still having one over left and Will Jacks with two.
Chasing 167 on a surface that had troubled batters all evening, RCB rode on Krunal Pandya’s fighting 73 and an astonishing late cameo from Bhuvneshwar Kumar to seal the contest on the final delivery.When Suryakumar came for the post-match chat, he was asked about the decision to hand Bawa the final over.“I think he (Raj Bawa) had been practicing that (death bowling) really well and he was a complete different all rounder this year. Almost pulled it off for us,” Surya said.“I think we were 10-15 runs short. We can say wrong timing of wickets (while batting). Naman and Tilak batted beautifully and showed character. I think these are the things you practice a lot with the fielding. The way Tilak came back and took the catch again, showed that he wanted to do something special. Part of the game,” he said.“I think we can just try and play this game because we love it. Though we are not used to being in this position often. Hard pill to swallow. Hopefully we will come back well next year. Very proud of the way he (Bosch) bowled in the powerplay and in all phases,” Surya added.Royal Challengers Bengaluru climbed to the top of the IPL 2026 points table after edging past Mumbai Indians. The two-wicket win not only boosted RCB’s playoff hopes but also strengthened their position in a tightly contested top-four race.With the victory, RCB now have 14 points from 11 matches, having registered seven wins and four defeats so far this season. More importantly, their impressive net run rate of +1.103 is currently the best among all teams, helping them move above Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans despite all three sides being tied on 14 points.For Mumbai Indians, the defeat officially ended their playoff hopes.MI are ninth with just three wins and eight losses from 11 matches, managing only six points with a net run rate of -0.585.
