Virat Kohli went wild after the Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeated the Mumbai Indians on the last ball of the match in the IPL 2026. The game was one of the best of the 19th season so far, and Mumbai had a chance to upset the defending champions, but wayward bowling in the 20th over allowed RCB to cross the finishing line.
Bengaluru are leading the points table, and one more win in their remaining three contests will confirm their playoff entry. Chasing 167 runs to avoid another defeat, the Rajat Patidar-led team was put on the back foot several times before securing a victory.
Kohli (0), Devdutt Padikkal (12) and Rajat Patidar (8) were ordinary with the bat before Krunal Pandya (73) added important runs to the total. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who took four wickets earlier, hit a crucial six in the last over.
Kohli, who is the best RCB player, was ecstatic.
“Hey guys, I’m gonna keep it short. I’m gonna wrap it up tonight. Thanks, Andy (Flower), for giving me a chance to do something in the game today,” Kohli said.
“But guys, look, if you want to win multi-team competitions, we need a team. We need a game like that. We need to scrap for a win. We need to fight hard. And we know the feeling in the group. We’re just talking about the game, how we started off again. Bhuvi, brilliant in the Powerplay. Your execution, your skills, you are absolutely world-class. I think it was the sixth three-wicket haul of the season – 11 games, which is crazy,” he added.
Bhuvneshwar, who is the current Purple Cap holder with 21 scalps, said: “The good thing is that whatever I’m doing or trying to do, it’s happening. And I think it’s all about confidence. When you start the IPL, you go through a couple of good matches, then your confidence goes up. And I think, yes, I don’t want to change it, but whatever I’m trying to do, it’s happening. My execution is spot on, getting wickets and, of course, getting help from fielders to catch those crucial chances. So yes, I mean things work out.”
Kohli also hailed the other RCB bowlers. “Shef (Romario Shepherd), the way you bowled tonight was top-notch, and you showed us what you can do when you feel confident with the ball in hand and you can hit your areas. You have the skill, and we all back you to execute your skills every time. So well done on that,” he mentioned.
“KP (Krunal), always can bank on you under pressure or any kind of situation. Again, brilliant with the ball. Suyash (Sharma) did his job as well. Rasikh (Salam Dar) was great too,” he highlighted.
“With the bat, we didn’t get off to the best start. We know that. But like the last game, we’ve had two games where we haven’t had the best starts, but last game, Rajat stepped up along with KP contributing. TD (Tim David) made an impact in the last game. This game around again, he stuck in and got us an important partnership with KP. So that contribution was crucial for us to chase the score down. So well done,” Kohli concluded.
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