RCB defeated MI in a last-ball thriller by two wickets in Match 54 of IPL 2026. The win saw the defending champions under climb to the top of the table with three games left to play while the five-time winners who were led by Suryakumar Yadav in the absence of Hardik Pandya, were knocked out of the Playoffs race and remain in 9th position.
Rajat Patidar’s Reality Check
However, despite the win, skipper Patidar made a shocking remark that RCB did not deserve to win. He felt that with the batting they had, a target of 167 should have been chased down more easily. The captain was all praise for who was promoted and made a 46-ball 73 that helped RCB get home. Patidar also hailed , who took 4/23 to reclaim the Purple Cap with 16 league matches left in IPL 2026. As of now, eight teams are fighting for four slots. LSG are also out of the race and last on the points table. RCB’s next match is vs KKR on May 13.
The Krunal Pandya Show
“I think it’s normal now, but it was a very tight match, overall I think, great game and especially KP (Krunal Pandya). I think he’s the man who’s done it for the team,” he said after the game.
“I think it’s our decision. I think we have discussed in team meetings and all. And we know, the way he played. He played earlier also number five. But yeah we wanted to give him an opportunity to go at number five and he has done pretty well. There’s a lot of experience, you know. So that’s why I think those players do it in the big stage and when the team is under pressure. I think it’s unbelievable, I would say,” he added.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s Superb Spell
“The way he (Bhuvneshwar) controlled over the ball, his control over the ball, I think is super. And it’s been difficult on a wicket that was two paced and variable bounce. I think it’s very difficult to play him,” he went on to say.
RCB Aiming for 2nd Straight Title
“Right now we are not bothered about the table because our mantra is to play on our strengths and play good cricket rather than looking on the table. I think bowlers have done a tremendous job there. Restricting them on 166, and that was, I would say, easily chaseable. But to be honest, I think we didn’t deserve to win this match because we have a skillful batting lineup. So no matter how the situation and the pitch condition is, we are capable enough to chase those targets easily,” he concluded.