RCB defeats Mumbai Indians by 12 runs

KATHMANDU: In a match on Monday, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) defeated Mumbai Indians by 12 runs, securing their third victory in IPL 2025.

Chasing a massive target of 222, Mumbai fell short, finishing at 209/9 in their allotted 20 overs.

Mumbai struggled early in the match, failing to maintain the required run rate in the first 10 overs, which put them on the back foot.

However, captain Hardik Pandya and Tilak Verma fought back with explosive batting, giving Mumbai hope for a dramatic comeback.

With 28 runs needed from the final 2 overs, RCB’s Josh Hazlewood struck a key blow, dismissing Hardik on the very first ball of the over while he was attempting a big shot. Hardik had contributed 42 runs from 15 balls.

Tilak Veerma, who had made 56 runs off 29 balls, was also dismissed by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, further denting Mumbai’s chances.

In the final over, with 20 runs required, Mumbai lost both Michael Santner and Deepak Chahar to Krunal Pandya’s delivery. Pandya’s remarkable over, in which he took 3 wickets, turned the game on its head.

He finished with 4 wickets for 45 runs in his 4 overs.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood also impressed, taking 2 wickets each, while Suyash Sharma bowled economically, giving away just 32 runs from 4 overs.

Earlier, RCB, batting first after losing the toss, posted a challenging total of 221/5. Virat Kohli and captain Rajat Patidar led the charge with the bat, both scoring half-centuries.

Kohli made 67 runs from 42 balls, including eight fours and two sixes, while Patidar contributed 64 runs from 32 balls, earning the Player of the Match award.

Jitesh Sharma added an unbeaten 40 runs off 19 balls, and Devdutt Padikkal scored 37 runs from 22 balls. Mumbai’s Hardik Pandya took two wickets for 45 runs in his 4 overs.

With this win, RCB climbed to third place in the points table, having won 3 out of 4 games. On the other hand, Mumbai’s inconsistent form continued, as they slumped to eighth position, with 4 losses from 5 games.