In a thrilling encounter at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) clinched a narrow two-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL). RCB faced early challenges, collapsing to 39/3 during the Powerplay while chasing a target of 167 runs. Captain Rajat Patidar acknowledged the team's struggles, stating, “I don’t think we deserved to win the match,” reflecting on their performance despite having a strong batting lineup. The turning point was Krunal Pandya's impressive innings of 73 runs off 46 balls, which helped stabilize the innings after the early wickets. Patidar noted that the decision to promote Krunal to number five in the batting order was a tactical move discussed within the team. Despite their victory, Patidar emphasized that the team is focused on improving their gameplay rather than fixating on the points table, where they currently sit at the top.