Krunal (73), Bhuvneshwar (4/23) shine in their narrow two-wicket win
Raipur: Krunal Pandya’s gritty 73 and Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s all-round heroics (4/23, 7 not out) powered Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a nervy two-wicket victory and knocked Mumbai Indians out of the race for IPL playoffs on Sunday.
The win took RCB to the top of the Indian Premier League table with 14 points from 11 matches.
In a low-scoring attritional contest, fortunes swung from one side to the other but RCB got over the line in the final ball, scoring two off it.
The defending champions made the required 15 runs off the final over bowled by Raj Bawa, including a six from Bhuvneshwar while also losing the last recognised batter in the form of Romario Shepherd (4).
RCB kept fighting from being reduced to 39 for three, and eventually finished with 167 for eight in reply to MI’s 166/7.
Pandya battled cramps towards the end but produced a sensational 73 off 46 balls.
