IPL 2026: Bosch's 4-Fer In Vain As RCB Beat MI In Last-Ball Thriller

(MENAFN- AsiaNet News) Corbin Bosch's superb four-wicket haul went in vain as a fluent fifty from Krunal Pandya, and a six in the final over from Bhuvneshwar Kumar sealed a dramatic final-ball victory for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) by 2 wickets over Mumbai Indians (MI) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) clash in Raipur on Sunday night.

Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants have both been knocked out of the race for the playoffs. This is RCB's second win against MI on the last ball while chasing after their 2-wicket win in Chennai in 2021 (chasing 160). Bosch starred with a four-wicket haul, but it was Pandya who stole the limelight with a blistering 73 off 46 deliveries, laced with four boundaries and five sixes. With this victory, RCB move to the top of the Indian Premier League standings with seven wins from 11 matches, while Mumbai Indians remain in ninth place with just three wins from their 11 fixtures.

RCB seal dramatic chase

Chasing a moderate target of 167, Jacob Bethell and Virat Kohli opened the innings for RCB. Deepak Chahar gave the defending champions a major blow in the first over as he removed star batter Kohli for a golden duck, bringing Devdutt Padikkal to the crease. This was the second instance in which Kohli scored ducks in successive IPL innings. First was in the 2022 season against LSG and SRH. Chahar, in his following over, struck again, removing Padikkal for 12, and RCB skipper Rajat Patidar joined Bethell at the crease. Patidar also failed with the bat as Corbin Bosch got the better of the RCB skipper for 8 in the final over of the power-play, and Krunal Pandya joined Bethell at the crease.

Pandya's fifty keeps RCB in hunt

Pandya and Bethell steadied RCB's innings as they took the defending champions to 74-3 after 10 overs. Bosch struck again for MI at a crucial time, removing set Bethell for 27 off 27 balls in the 13th over, bringing wicketkeeper/batter Jitesh Sharma to the crease. Bosch delivered a superb 13th over, claiming a crucial wicket while conceding no runs in a match-turning maiden. Corbin Bosch became the first bowler to bowl a maiden over in middle overs (7-15) in IPL 2026. Sharma, who has endured a lean run with the bat this season, kick-started his innings in style by launching young pacer Raj Bawa for a massive six over long-off. Pandya, in the 15th over, brought up his well-deserved fifty after pushing the ball towards mid-wicket for a couple of runs. After getting slammed for two sixes in the 16th over, Bosch came back strongly and sent back Sharma for 18 off 12 balls, bringing Tim David to the crease. Bosch gave RCB a double blow as he removed David for a golden duck. Pandya, however, kept RCB in the hunt, smashing AM Ghazanfar for two massive sixes before Ghazanfar got the better of him for 73. Ace speedster Bumrah once again rose to the occasion with a superb 19th over, conceding just three runs to tighten the screws on the opposition. Young pacer Raj Bawa held his nerve to dismiss Romario Shepherd for 4, but Bhuvneshwar Kumar responded with a crucial six before Rasikh Salam Dar calmly picked up two runs in the final over to seal the victory for Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

Bhuvneshwar's four-fer restricts MI

Earlier in the match, Bhuvneshwar Kumar's four-wicket haul helped RCB restrict MI to 166/7 at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur. Bhuvneshwar, who finished with figures of 4/23 in 4 overs, gave MI an early jolt with three quick wickets and then returned to pick the crucial wicket of Tilak Varma later in the innings. However, despite Bhuvneshwar's lethal bowling, MI's Naman Dhir and Tilak steered the team to a respectable total of 166/7 in 20 overs. Bhuvneshwar got RCB off to a brilliant start as he provided the first breakthrough in the very first over, dismissing MI opener Ryan Rickelton (2). While Rohit Sharma briefly threatened to snatch back the momentum, smashing Josh Hazlewood for 18 runs in the second over, including two sixes, Bhuvneshwar returned to silence the MI dugout. In a sensational third over, Bhuvneshwar removed Rohit (22 off 10), caught by Jitesh Sharma, and followed it up by dismissing the stand-in skipper Suryakumar Yadav for a golden duck. At 28/3, Mumbai were staring at a total collapse.

Dhir-Tilak steady MI innings

However, Naman and Tilak steadied the MI ship by stitching together an 82-run knock. The Dhir-Tilak stand hauled MI from 28/3 to 102/3 in 12 overs. Just as MI looked set to launch a final assault, RCB's Rasikh Salam Dar (1/42 in 4 overs) provided the breakthrough RCB desperately needed. He dismissed Naman (47 off 32) in the 13th over, ending a stand that had threatened to take the game away from the Bengaluru side. Shortly after, Romario Shepherd (1/18 in 3 overs) struck a crucial blow by removing the dangerous Will Jacks (10), leaving MI at 136/5 after 16 overs. Tilak brought up his fifty off 37 balls in the 17th over as MI's score read 149/5 after 17 overs. However, Bhuvneshwar returned to continue haunting the MI batting lineup as he got rid of Tilak in the 18th over, reducing MI to the score of 155/6. Hazlewood (1/43 in 4 overs) delivered a brilliant penultimate over as he got rid of RCB's Raj Bawa (16) and conceded only six runs. With MI's Corbin Bosch and Deepak Chahar at the crease, Rasikh Salam Dar delivered the last over and gave away only five runs, restricting 166/7 in 20 overs.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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