RCB chased down MI's target of 167 on the final delivery in Raipur.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) edged past Mumbai Indians (MI) in a last-ball thriller at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Raipur on Sunday (May 10).
After a top-order collapse orchestrated by Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4/23), MI rebuilt through Tilak Varma (57 off 42) and Naman Dhir (47 off 32) to post 166/7.
During the chase, RCB were reduced to 39/3 in 5.1 overs before Krunal Pandya (73 off 46) produced a counter punch to steady the ship.
Needing 15 from the final over, Bhuvneshwar Kumar hit a crucial six off Raj Bawa. With two required off the last delivery, Rasikh Salam Dar scrambled for a double to seal the deal.
Speaking after the game, RCB skipper Rajat Patidar singled out Krunal Pandya as the difference-maker while also confirming it was a collective team decision to promote the latter to No. 5.
“(Can I check you pulse?) I think it's normal now, but it was a very tight match, overall I think, great game and especially KP (Krunal Pandya). I think he's the man who's done it for the team,” Patidar said at the post-match presentation.
“(Whose decision was it that he bats at number five today?) I think it's our (team's) decision. I think we have discussed in team meetings and all. And we know, the way he played. He played earlier also number five. But yeah we wanted to give him an opportunity to go at number five and he has done pretty well,” he added.
Patidar described Bhuvneshwar’s control over the ball as "super" and "unbelievable," noting how difficult he was to play on a two-paced wicket with variable bounce.
“I think it's unbelievable, I would say. I think the way he (Bhuvneshwar) controlled over the ball, his control over the ball, I think is super. And it's been difficult on a wicket that was two paced and variable bounce. I think it's very difficult to play him,” he remarked.
Patidar stated the team is "not bothered" about the points table, focusing instead on their strengths and playing good cricket. The defending champions are currently leading the table with 14 points from 11 matches.
“Right now we are not bothered about the table because our mantra is to play on our strengths and play good cricket rather than looking on the table,” he said.
Despite the win, Rajat Patidar expressed a self-critical view that his team didn't "deserve" it because their "skillful batting lineup" should have chased the target of 166 far more easily than they did.
“I think bowlers have done a tremendous job there. Restricting them to 166, and that was, I would say, easily chaseable. But to be honest, I think we don't deserve to win this match because we have a skillful batting lineup. So no matter how the situation and the pitch condition is, we are capable enough to chase those targets easily,” he concluded.