By Prakash Nair 
Mumbai, April 12: By the time the last ball was bowled at the Wankhede, the numbers told the whole story. RCB 240/4. Mumbai Indians 222 all out. Royal Challengers Bengaluru win by 18 runs. And somewhere in the dressing room, a hamstrung Rohit Sharma sat watching a chase that Mumbai could never quite pull off, not because they didn’t try, but because the target RCB had set was simply built on a different planet.
This was not a close match, even if 18 runs sounds like it was. It was a statement win. From the very first over of the evening to the final ball of the night, RCB looked like the side that knew exactly what it was doing. Mumbai looked like a team still searching for answers.
The First Innings: Where the Match Was Won and Lost
The damage was done with the bat, and it was done early. MI won the toss and opted to bowl first, but despite that, they were poor with the ball and leaked 71 runs in 6 overs.
Phil Salt set the tone. He always does. Salt smashed a 36-ball 78, while Kohli made a composed 50 off 38 balls, as the duo put on a polished 120-run stand for the opening wicket. The powerplay was a bloodbath. Every bowler MI tried went for runs. Shardul Thakur finally removed Salt, but the harm was irreversible by then.
Kohli played the perfect supporting role. He was not going for broke the way Salt was; he was building, rotating, and accelerating when he needed to. Kohli got to his 65th fifty in 37 deliveries, and right after the milestone, he was caught out by Suryakumar Yadav. Hardik, to his credit, took the wicket, but by then RCB had 185 on the board with five overs still to come.
Then Rajat Patidar happened. Right after the Kohli dismissal, Patidar scored a 17-ball fifty, one of the fastest of this IPL season. He hit five sixes. He targeted Markande. He looked every bit the captain who had already won this match in his head before stepping to the crease. Santner eventually got him, but only after Patidar had taken RCB to 194/3 in 15.6 overs.
Tim David and Jitesh Sharma ensured a powerful finish, with David’s late-innings assault pushing the total beyond 230. Despite Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah picking up key wickets, MI bowlers struggled to contain the flow of runs on a batting-friendly Wankhede pitch. Final score: 240/4. The second-highest total of IPL 2026 so far.
The Bowling Damage Report
Of MI’s bowlers, only Bumrah emerged with any dignity. Bumrah conceded 35 runs in his 4 overs, picking up 0 wickets, expensive by his standards, but comparatively restrained given what was happening around him. Boult went for 50. Shardul bled 32 in just 2 overs. Mayank Markande, brought in as a specialist spinner, gave away 40 in 2 overs an evening, and he will want to forget quickly.
241 was what Mumbai needed. At the Wankhede. With dew. With Rohit and Rickelton opening. It felt possible, barely.
The Chase: So Close, So Far
Mumbai started well. Surprisingly well, in fact. Rohit Sharma and Rickelton gave the Mumbai Indians a solid start, with MI scoring 62/0 in the powerplay. The Wankhede crowd was alive. The dew was setting in and the bat was coming on nicely. For about six overs, Mumbai looked like they might actually do it.
Then it unravelled.
Rohit Sharma was seen struggling with something during play and eventually retired hurt with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. He did not return. For a team already under the pump, losing their most experienced batter to injury in the middle of a run-chase was a blow they never recovered from.
Suyash Sharma struck twice in the 8th over to remove Ryan Rickelton and Tilak Varma. Just like that, Mumbai were 74/2. The required rate was climbing. Suryakumar Yadav came in and provided some resistance. SKY scored 33 off 22 balls before departing while trying to clear the fence, but it was never enough to keep pace with what the scoreboard was demanding.
Hardik Pandya fell at 145/4 in the 14.4th over, a terrible miscue off a full and wide delivery outside off, off the outer half of the blade, completing an easy catch at deep backward point. MI were spiralling.
Mumbai needed 94 runs from the last five overs with six wickets in hand. Another disappointing display from their star batters, including Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav. Nothing was falling into place.
Rutherford Fights, But It Is Not Enough
The one bright spark in MI’s second innings, and it was genuinely bright, was impact player Sherfane Rutherford. Brought in to give the chase a late push, the West Indian all-rounder batted with the kind of fearlessness the situation demanded. Rutherford’s 71-run cameo kept the match alive longer than it had any right to be, pulling MI back into the conversation during the final overs when most had already written them off.
But 241 was always going to be too steep. The required rate had climbed too high, too early. The top order had not done enough in the powerplay after Rohit’s exit. And RCB’s bowling, particularly Jacob Duffy and Rasikh Salam Dar, held its nerve when it mattered.
With 46 runs needed off the last 7 balls, the match was effectively over. RCB had won. By 18 runs. Mumbai finished on 222.
What This Result Means
For RCB, this is more than just two points. RCB registered an imposing 240 for 4, the second-highest score this season, against the Mumbai Indians. They came in off a defeat, bounced back with an emphatic performance, and proved that their batting depth is genuinely frightening when all three of Salt, Kohli, and Patidar fire in the same innings. The defending champions look every bit deserving of that title.
For Mumbai, the problems are deepening. This is now three consecutive defeats. MI observed a minute’s silence ahead of the game in honour of renowned playback singer Asha Bhosle, who passed away earlier today a moment of shared grief before a match that brought the home crowd further pain. Rohit’s hamstring is now a genuine concern. The bowling attack gave away 240. The middle order SKY, Tilak, and Hardik failed to fire collectively in the chase.
The tournament has ten more matches per team, roughly. There is time to correct course. But the window is narrowing, and at the Wankhede on Sunday night, the five-time champions looked a long way from the side they want to be.
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- Prakash Nair
- Prakash Nair
- Prakash Nair
- Prakash Nair
