Mumbai Indians (MI) have officially been knocked out of the IPL 2026 playoffs race. Their elimination was confirmed following a last-ball defeat against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Raipur on Sunday (May 10), leaving them with only three wins from 11 matches.
Sent in to bat, MI were 28 for 3 in three overs. Tilak Varma (57) and Naman Dhir (47) added 82 runs to steady the innings, but once they departed, the five-time champions struggled to get runs as RCB bowlers did well to restrict them to 166/7. Bhuvneshwar Kumar returned with figures of 4 for 23.
During the chase, the defending champions were left reeling at 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, 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 win for RCB.
Speaking during the post-match presentation, stand-in MI captain Suryakumar Yadav reflected on the loss and explained why he took the call to give last over to Bawa.
“(On Raj Bawa being given the last over) I think he's been practising that really well throughout the season and last year also and he was a completely different all-rounder when we saw him this year. So, going ahead with him with that one or two overs and also the last over taking that responsibility, almost pulled it off for us,” Suryakumar said.
He conceded that Mumbai Indians were 10-15 runs short. “(Assessment of the total) I think we were 10-15 runs short. That's what I felt. Wrong wickets at wrong timings. But the way Naman (Dhir) and Tilak (Varma) batted, I think it was beautiful on this wicket, showed a lot of character. I think they were completely batting on a different track,” Surya added.
Suryakumar acknowledged the difficult, unfamiliar ninth spot on the 10-team points table, but focused on learning and coming back stronger next season.
“I think we can just try and play this game because we love it. As I said, try and put our best foot forward, play the best game whenever we get an opportunity. Though we are not used to staying in such difficult positions (bottom of the table), hard pill to swallow, but then at the same time, there's a lot of learnings throughout the season. We can come back stronger next year as well,” he remarked.
Suryakumar Yadav noted Corbin Bosch's impact, praising for his consistent bowling, particularly in the power play and death overs.
“Absolutely. I mean, the way he bowled in the last game, didn't bowl the quota of all his four overs, but the way he bowled today in starting from the power play and the way he ended, very, very proud of him,” he concluded.
