Bhubaneswar Kumar displayed his mastery yet again.
| Photo Credit: Emmanual Yogini
It had been 10 long years since the Raipur crowd had the chance to engage in an IPL game at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium. In an era of 200-plus strike rates and 230-run chases, the local fans were treated to a gripping contest where the bowlers called the shots.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s four-wicket haul and Krunal Pandya’s fighting fifty helped defending champion Royal Challengers Bengaluru eke out a two-wicket win over Mumbai Indians on Sunday (May 10, 2026) to move to the top of the IPL 2026 table.
Bhuvneshwar struck thrice in the PowerPlay to handicap the visiting side early after Rajat Patidar won the toss and opted to bowl on a hard, black soil pitch. After forcing Ryan Rickleton to balloon a catch off the splice, the pacer brought out the knuckleball to get rid of Rohit Sharma, who had smashed two sixes against Josh Hazlewood at the other end, before nicking off Suryakumar Yadav on the first ball
Naman Dhir and Tilak Varma needed some time to get set on the pitch, which offered some uneven bounce, but eventually put together an 82-run stand. Tilak’s gritty half-century, where he prioritised finding the gap over muscling the ball, helped MI cross the 150-run mark. But once he was bowled by a pinpoint yorker from Bhuvneshwar, the lower-order couldn’t provide a final flourish.
Chasing a modest target of 167, the ball seemed to be in the home side’s court. But Deepak Chahar struck twice in his opening spell, removing Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal. When Patidar skied a catch to the ’keeper off Corbin Bosch on eight, the game was back in the balance.
Krunal was promoted to No. 5 to steady the ship. The southpaw released the pressure with the advent of spin as he took down anything bowled too full with a combination of sweeps and shots down the ground.
Despite Bosch putting MI on top with three quick wickets, Krunal persevered through recurring bouts of cramp to take the team close before Bhuvneshwar returned to strike a crucial final-over six to seal a stunning win. The result also meant both MI and Lucknow Super Giants were eliminated from the playoff race.
Published – May 11, 2026 12:28 am IST
