Images from the IPL 2025 match between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Monday.
Spinner Krunal Pandya upstaged brother Hardik as Royal Challengers Bengaluru edged Mumbai Indians by 12 runs in a high-scoring thriller in the IPL 2025 match in Mumbai on Monday.
Krunal picked up three wickets in the final over as Mumbai Indians finished on 209/9 in their 20 overs after being set 222 for victory, to suffer their fourth defeat in five matches in IPL 2025.
This was RCB's first victory at the Wankhede Stadium in 10 years, having last won at the venue in 2015.
Mumbai Indians were reeling at 99/4 following the dismissal of Suryakumar Yadav (28), before skipper Hardik Pandya (42 off 15 balls) and Tilak Varma (56 off 29 balls) launched a stunning counter-attack to propel the hosts back into the contest.
Hardik went hammer and tongs while hitting three fours and four sixes, while Tilak also fought his way back into form, but the target proved far too much for Mumbai Indians who were again ordinary with the bat for a large part in their chase.
Captain Hardik blazed his way to an entertaining 42 from 15 balls, putting on 89 runs from 32 balls for the fifth wicket with Tilak Varma, who stroked 56 from 29 balls.
RCB's experience in the pace department proved vital as Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed Tilak in the 18th over before Josh Hazlewood doused MI's hopes, getting Hardik caught at deep midwicket in the penultimate over.
The run chase didn't start on the right note for the struggling MI. Rohit Sharma (17) was cleaned up by Yash Dayal (2/46) while swinging across an inswinging delivery and MI's best batter Suryakumar struggled during his 28-run knock for which he consumed 26 balls.
On the other hand, Tilak brought up his maiden fifty of the season off 26 balls to make a comeback after being retired out in the last game.
The fortunes swung when Hardik clobbered two sixes and as many fours off his first four balls off Krunal Pandya in the 14th over.
In the final over, MI needed 19 runs to win but Krunal Pandya took three wickets to shut the doors on them, picking up the wickets of Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar and Naman Dhir to finish with excellent figures of 4/45.
Earlier, RCB rode on scintillating fifties from Virat Kohli (67) and skipper Rajat Patidar (64) to post a huge 221/5.
Kohli ruled the roost with a 42-ball 67 which gave RCB early impetus in Jasprit Bumrah's (0/29) comeback game. Later on, Patidar smashed a blistering 32-ball 64, hitting four sixes and five fours, while Jitesh Sharma entertained with a splendid cameo of 40 from 19 balls, with four sixes and two fours to dismantle the MI attack in the final few overs.
Put into bat, RCB suffered an early blow when Phil Salt (4) played across the line to an inswinger from Trent Boult (2/57) to be bowled off an inside edge in the first over.
Unfazed by the early blow, RCB recorded their highest powerplay score against Mumbai Indians by scoring 72/1, as both Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal (37 off 22 balls) went all guns blazing.
The momentum had swayed RCB's way before MI introduced Bumrah in the fourth over, and Kohli welcomed his India teammate with a six over midwicket.
Going at nearly 10 an over, RCB collected 20 runs off the final over in the Powerplay from Deepak Chahar as Padikkal tore into the India bowler, smacking two sixes and a four.
RCB's onslaught had also left MI clueless for a while, as Will Jacks was brought on to bowl inside the Powerplay and was duly punished for 10 runs.
Padikkal was severe on any MI bowler who erred in his length, smashing three sixes and two fours before he was caught at long-on miscuing the lofted shot off spinner Vignesh Puthur in the ninth over. By then however, he had added 91 runs off 52 balls with Kohli for the second wicket to set the tone for the visitors.
Kohli has had significant success with the bat at Wankhede Stadium and Monday was no different -- if he began with a few unconvincing boundaries, his exquisite drive through covers off Boult in the third over showed he was up for a big knock.
Kohli capitalised on every opportunity to score, whether it was picking gaps with ease or his immaculate running between the wickets.
Having completed 13,000 runs to move into unchartered territory for any Indian in the format in a little over 400 matches, a century appeared on the horizon.
But, in the 15th over, Kohli uncharacteristically walked across the crease to heave Pandya over the leg side but holed out to Naman Dhir at deep midwicket, as his innings ended with two sixes and eight fours.
Patidar was belligerent with his strokes down the ground as well as behind the wicket, bringing up his fifty off only 25 balls. He struck MI skipper Hardik Pandya for 23 runs in the 17th over.
Patidar's innings ended in the penultimate over when a top edge was grabbed near the ropes by a diving Ryan Rickelton in what was one of the most spectacular catches of this IPL season.
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