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Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Suryakumar Yadav felt his side fell just short by 10-15 runs in their narrow defeat against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), pointing to crucial wicket losses at key moments in their innings.
He praised the fighting innings from Naman Dhir and Tilak Varma, saying they showed strong character to stabilise the innings after early setbacks. Suryakumar also highlighted the efforts of young pacer Raj Bawa, noting his improvement as a death bowler and acknowledging how close he came to turning the game in MI's favour. He added that the team's fielding efforts, including a committed return catch taken by Tilak, reflected their intent despite the loss. Corbin Bosch's brilliant four-wicket haul went in vain as a fluent half-century from Krunal Pandya, and a crucial six in the final over from Bhuvneshwar Kumar powered Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a dramatic two-wicket, final-ball win over Mumbai Indians in Raipur on Sunday night. Mumbai Indians and Lucknow Super Giants have both been knocked out of the race for the playoffs. Admitting it was a "hard pill to swallow," the MI captain said the team is not used to such close defeats but remains focused on enjoying the game and bouncing back stronger next season. He also reserved special praise for Corbin Bosch, commending his impact with the ball across all phases of the innings. "I think he (Raj Bawa) had been practicing that (death bowling) really well and he was a complete different all rounder this year. Almost pulled it off for us. I think we were 10-15 runs short. We can say wrong timing of wickets (while batting). Naman and Tilak batted beautifully and showed character. I think these are the things you practice a lot with the fielding. The way Tilak came back and took the catch again showed that he wanted to do something special. Part of the game. I think we can just try to play this game because we love it. Though we are not used to being in this position often. Hard pill to swallow. Hopefully, we will come back well next year. Very proud of the way he (Bosch) bowled in the powerplay and in all phases," Suryakumar Yadav said after the match. Bosch starred with a four-wicket haul, but it was Pandya who stole the limelight with a blistering 73 off 46 deliveries, laced with four boundaries and five sixes. This is RCB's second win against MI on the last ball while chasing after their 2-wicket win in Chennai in 2021 (chasing 160). With this victory, RCB move to the top of the Indian Premier League standings with seven wins from 11 matches, while Mumbai Indians remain in ninth place with just three wins from their 11 fixtures. (ANI)
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