Mumbai Indians captain Suryakumar Yadav’s bold call to entrust the final over to young all-rounder Raj Angad Bawa backfired as Royal Challengers Bengaluru pulled off a nerve-wracking two-wicket victory in a last-ball thriller at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium on Sunday. The win eliminated Mumbai Indians from the IPL 2026 playoffs race.
After Jasprit Bumrah’s economical penultimate over, which conceded just three runs and left RCB needing 15 off the last six deliveries, Suryakumar handed the ball to Bawa. This decision came despite Allah Ghazanfar and Will Jacks still having overs remaining (one and two, respectively).
Chasing 167 on a tricky surface, RCB was powered by Krunal Pandya’s fighting 73 and a stunning late cameo from Bhuvneshwar Kumar to seal the contest on the final ball.
During the post-match press conference, Suryakumar was asked about his choice to give Bawa the final over.
“I think he (Raj Bawa) had been practicing his death bowling really well and was a completely different all-rounder this year. He almost pulled it off for us,” Suryakumar explained.
“We were probably 10-15 runs short. The timing of wickets during our batting phase was off. Naman and Tilak batted beautifully and showed great character. These are things you work on extensively in fielding practice. The way Tilak came back and took that catch again showed he wanted to do something special. It’s part of the game,” he added.
“We just try to play because we love it, though we’re not used to being in this position often. It’s a hard pill to swallow. Hopefully, we’ll come back stronger next year. I’m very proud of the way he (Bosch) bowled in the powerplay and throughout the innings,” Suryakumar concluded.
With this win, Royal Challengers Bengaluru climbed to the top of the IPL 2026 points table. The victory gave them 14 points from 11 matches, with seven wins and four losses. Their net run rate of +1.103 is the best among all teams, allowing them to leapfrog Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans, who are also on 14 points.
For Mumbai Indians, the defeat sealed their elimination. They now sit ninth in the standings with just three wins and eight losses from 11 matches, managing six points and a net run rate of -0.585.