69th encounter IPL 2026 The season at the Wankhede Stadium witnessed a contrasting tale of two bowling titans. while Rajasthan Royals (RR) recorded a comprehensive 30-run victory to secure their ticket to the post-season, Mumbai Indians (MI) ended a dismal season firmly rooted in the bottom half of the points table. Sunday’s clash put a definitive stamp on MI’s campaign, highlighting a season in which nothing has gone according to plan for the five-time champions.
Jasprit Bumrah finished IPL 2026 with an undesired T20 record for the first time
jasprit bumrah‘s IPL 2026 campaign will go down as the most uncharacteristic phase of his illustrious career. The premier speedster entered the tournament with absolute top speed, having just completed a sensational run. T20 World Cup 2026 a campaign in which he finished as the joint-highest wicket-taker, leading India to their third global T20 crown. Mumbai Indians have made the most of this momentum, hoping that their core of decorated international stars will end their championship drought since 2021.
Instead, the entire inner core was shaken. Bumrah cut a desperate figure throughout the season, managing to claim just four wickets. His turbulent run came to a premature end against him on May 20 Kolkata Knight Riders At Eden Gardens, he managed a single scalp in a lost cause. Hoping to manage the workload ahead of upcoming international commitments, the MI management decided to rest early for the final league match against Rajasthan Royals.
Sitting in the final, Bumrah’s seasonal statistics were frozen in the history books and secured an unwanted first. The pacer ended his IPL 2026 journey with a bowling average of 102.50. This now stands as the worst bowling average recorded by any player for a tournament or tournament edition in the entire history of T20 cricket, filtered for the minimum 40-plus overs.
Also READ: Fans go wild as Jofra Archer’s all-round show takes RR to the IPL 2026 Playoffs.
Jofra Archer delivers a match-winning all-round masterclass that sends Rajasthan Royals into the IPL 2026 playoffs.
Watching from the sidelines was Bumrah, his former Mumbai teammate Jofra Archer A standout at the Wankhede, he single-handedly produced a masterclass to propel Rajasthan Royals into the top four. Batting first, Rajasthan posted a mammoth total of 205/8 in 20 overs. However, the real late innings burst came from Archer, who scored a blistering 32 runs off just 15 deliveries, which included four fours and 3 sixes, working at a strike rate of 213.33.
Defending 205, Archer came back to break the back of Mumbai’s batting order with a devastating opening spell. He rejected the visitor Rohit Sharma He followed it up with a four-ball duck in the first over and clearance Naman Dhir for a total of 6.
Despite a solid counterattack Suryakumar YadavA stylish 60 off 42 balls and a short 15 ball 34 cameo from the captain. Hardik Pandyathe target was too steep. Archer returned to dismiss Pandya in the 16th over to spoil the chase completely. Archer, who finished with magnificent figures of 3/17 in 4 overs with an economy of 4.25, walked away with the Man of the Match award as they were restricted to 175/9, which sealed Rajasthan’s play-off berth.
Also READ: This is the reason why Jasprit Bumrah is not playing in today’s match against RR
