Royal Challengers Bengaluru all-rounder Krunal Pandya added a touch of humour to an otherwise dominant win over Mumbai Indians in IPL 2026, calling out mentor Dinesh Karthik for leaving him out of a celebratory social media post. After the match, Karthik shared images highlighting key performers, but Krunal’s economical bowling effort didn’t make the cut—prompting the all-rounder to comment, “Bro no bowlers post?” in a light-hearted jab.
Krunal, however, let his performance do most of the talking on the field. Introduced during a crucial phase, he broke a growing partnership between Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya. Suryakumar, looking to accelerate, attempted a sweep but mistimed it, sending the ball high into the air.
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Rasikh Dar kept his composure at deep backward square leg to complete a safe catch, handing Krunal a key breakthrough. The left-arm spinner finished with impressive figures of 4-0-26-1, maintaining the best economy rate among RCB bowlers at 6.5.
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He cleverly mixed his lengths and used subtle variations, including the occasional short ball, to keep the Mumbai batters guessing. His control in the middle overs played a significant role in slowing down MI’s chase.
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The match ultimately tilted in RCB’s favour when Hardik Pandya fell to Jacob Duffy, mistiming a shot to Romario Shepherd in the deep. Earlier, RCB had set the tone with a commanding 240/4, powered by half-centuries from Virat Kohli, Phil Salt, and Rajat Patidar. Kohli and Salt stitched together a solid 120-run opening stand, laying the foundation before Patidar and Tim David added late fireworks.
It all began with Kohli’s effortless flick for six off Trent Boult, setting the tone for a batting display that Mumbai Indians struggled to match.
