The Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur has witnessed the modern era. IPL sunday classic. The rivalry between them in the 54th match of the season Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Mumbai Indians (MI) reached fever pitch. In a wildly swinging game till the last over, RCB sent their fans into pure delirium with a thrilling two-wicket victory on the last ball. With the playoffs ramping up, this high-profile encounter fit the bill and proved yet again why the IPL remains the pinnacle of T20 cricket.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s 4-rib shot restricts MI to a competitive score
Opting to bowl first, RCB relied on his timeless craft Bhuvneshwar Kumar Dismantling Mumbai’s top order. The veteran swing specialist gave a masterclass in opening bowling by eliminating the dangerous ones Ryan Rickelton (2) in the first before hitting a double in the third. Sent the legendary Rohit Sharma a quick 22 came back and followed it up, dismissing the MI captain Suryakumar Yadav for the golden duck.
Reduced to 28/3, Mumbai Indians found a saviour Naman Dhir, counter-attacking for a spirited 47 off 32 balls. However, it was so Tilak Varma who anchored the innings with a composed half-century. Varma’s 57 off 42 deliveries (including 7 fours and 3 sixes) took MI past 150.
Just as MI looked set to explode at the death, Bhuvneshwar returned to clear Varma and finished with perfect figures of 4 for 23. Corbin Bosch and Deepak ChaharRCB’s disciplined bowling, supported by Hello Rasikh and Romario ShepherdRestricted Mumbai to just 166/7. Although competitive on the Raipur surface, which showed signs of grip, it felt a tad underwhelming given the explosive nature of the MI line-up.
Krunal Pandya’s thrilling innings inspires RCB to memorable IPL 2026 win over MI
The chase started disastrously for RCB. jasprit bumrah and Deepak Chahar Chahar exploited the new ball by removing the iconic ball Virat Kohli first time for a duck. When Rajat Patidar dropped in the sixth over, RCB reeled at 39/3 and the Raipur crowd fell silent.
Enter it Krunal Pandya. Playing with a point to prove against his former franchise, Krunal changed the momentum of the game. Krunal remained the calm center of the storm even as wickets swirled around him, including a middle-order collapse caused by Bosch’s four-wicket. He hit 73 off 46 balls laced with 4 boundaries and 5 powerful sixes. His ability to manipulate the field and target the spinners kept the required pace within reach.
There was drama when Krunal fell in the 18th over for 18 runs. The tail led by Rasikh and Bhuvneshwar held their nerve. With 10 runs needed in the final and 8 wickets down, the match went to the final ball. Hero with the ball, Bhuvneshwar became a hero with the bat and ran away to finish off the winning runs with 7* 2 balls. RCB finished with 167/8 to secure a win that cemented their position at the top of the table and left the Mumbai Indians camp looking for answers in a season of missed opportunities.
Also WATCH: Rasikh Salam smashes Naman Dhir’s stumps with a peach in RCB vs MI
Here’s how the fans reacted:
What a thriller!
RCB beat MI by a nail-biting margin 🫡#RCBvsMI pic.twitter.com/C1h3BoaOt7— CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) May 10, 2026
BHUVNESHWAR KUMAR IN IPL 2026:
1/31 (4) compared to SRH
3/41 (4) vs CSK
0/37 (4) and RR
0/38 (4) compared to MI
3/27 (4) vs. LSG
3/26 (4) compared to DC
1/31 (4) against GT
3/5 (3) compared to DC
3/28(4) against GT
Compared to 0/34(4) LSG
4/23(4) and MIDear RCB fans, praise him all you can…he deserved a chance in india… pic.twitter.com/YZ22JahKIq
— Yuvraj Singh Fans (@Yuvifansclub) May 10, 2026
Bhuvneshwar Kumar gets the purple cap with 21 wickets and 7.46 economy.
His performance in all matches in IPL 2026:
1/31 (4) compared to SRH
3/41 (4) vs CSK
0/37 (4) and RR
0/38 (4) compared to MI
3/27 (4) vs. LSG
3/26 (4) compared to DC
1/31 (4) against GT
3/5 (3) compared to DC
3/28(4) against GT
Compared to 0/34(4) LSG
4/23(4) and MI pic.twitter.com/4r016gz7iE— Sagarika Dixit (@saga__r) May 10, 2026
Bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar was not enough so batsman Bhuvneshwar came to win matches 😭🔥 pic.twitter.com/NOhdJDdtV2
— Kevin (@imkevin149) May 10, 2026
Krunal Pandya turned back the clock with a superb shot for 💙
Calm under pressure, smart hitting and finishing touches when the team needed it most. A true all-rounder stepping up to the big stage 🔥🏏 pic.twitter.com/Fu5XhdC9Uy— Dugout prasanth📽️🏏 (@DieHardFanOfTh4) May 10, 2026
Mumbai Indians is the IPL franchise I support but I have to rate Krunal Pandya
I want it on every side I choose
🏏 Cricket Bowling: 3 overs for 8 runs
🏏 Batting: 73 runs in 45 balls at a strike rate of 162%
Excellent @krunalpandya24 pic.twitter.com/jlVOBYFHqY
— Nigel D’Souza (@Nigel__DSouza) May 10, 2026
Great to see a great contest between the ball and the bat.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) May 10, 2026
Don’t let a strong muscle man get in his way – But Krunal Pandya has added a lot of meat to his innings. A couple of big hits against Shami and Prince was a big positive in the last match .. But he added all that experience to his knock today .. Of course he will appreciate this fifty. #RCBvMI
— Jatin Sapru (@jatinsapru) May 10, 2026
Krunal Pandya tonight pic.twitter.com/U3UtajJUif
— T20 Tracker (@t20tracker) May 10, 2026
32 BALL FIFTY BY KRUNAL PANDYA.
– What important shots, great shots by Krunal! pic.twitter.com/27ugbHHurI
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) May 10, 2026
🚨 Take bow, catch Lord Krunal Pandyan. 🙇♂️
RCB’s crisis man and most valuable player for RCB right now. Krunal Pandya does his best with the ball in every match and almost single-handedly controls RCB’s spin attack.
Krunal Pandya was one of the biggest reasons… pic.twitter.com/VLOqGeQ2iD
— Sonu (@Cricket_live247) May 10, 2026
FIFTY FOR KRUNAL PANDYA. 👏
– Krunal smashed a brilliant fifty on a tough pitch against Mumbai Indians in this run chase. pic.twitter.com/zzMWuOdyMd
— Tanuj (@ImTanujSingh) May 10, 2026
Also WATCH: Bhuvneshwar Kumar beats MI with back-to-back wickets of Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav in RCB run.
