It was indeed a tough moment for Raj Angad Bawa, who could not handle the pressure but was lucky enough to have a captain like Suryakumar Yadav. The latter stated that Raj had been preparing himself to bowl the death overs at the nets but he believed that MI were 10-15 runs short
Published: May 11, 2026 5:23 PM IST
After getting officially eliminated from the Indian Premier League 2026 season, Mumbai Indians’ stand-in captain Suryakumar Yadav explained his reasoning behind handing the ball to 23-year-old Raj Angad Bawa for the all-important 20th over against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who needed 15 runs in the final over in match number 54 at Raipur last night.
The 5-time champions, who posted 166 after losing the toss and batting first, had almost secured a victory but ultimately fell short due to the late resurgence from the reigning champions, led by Rajat Patidar. If it wasn’t for MI’s former all-rounder Krunal Pandya’s exceptional knock at the backend of the innings, then Bengaluru would have surely dropped points and fall behind in the race for play-offs.
Top and lower order failure but Krunal Pandya sparked the comeback
After a horrible start from RCB, which saw the top-order bundle out cheaply, Pandya’s 73 off 46 dragged the South Indian franchise closer to the 160+ target. He was the only notable performer from the entire batting order – whether top or low. Virat Kohli and Tim David got out for golden ducks, while Jacob Bethell played a run-a-ball 27.
Impact sub Devdutt Paddikkal and captain Rajat Patidar could not get going as well, falling for scores of 12 and 8 with power hitter Romario Shepherd taking 11 balls just to score 4.
After Krunal Pandya’s onslaught, RCB still required a miracle to grab all 2 points and that’s when player of the match – Bhuvaneshwar Kumar did the unthinkable by hitting a massive six in the final over, following Shepherd’s departure in the 3rd ball. Right-arm pacer Rasikh Salam scored the winning runs and sent Bengaluru at the summit of the table.
Raj Angad Bawa fails to find luck but gets defended by skipper Suryakumar Yadav
On an honest note, the game was very much in the hands of Mumbai Indians when Jasprit Bumrah leaked just 3 runs in the 19th over, leaving 15 runs to defend in the 20th. Skipper Suryakumar Yadav, who was expected to go with either of Allah Ghazanfar or Will Jacks for the final 6 balls, surprised everyone by trusting all-rounder Raj Angad Bawa for the job.
The 23-year-old started his over with a wide and no-ball but gave only 1 run in the first legal delivery, which was a free hit. He bowled another wide, which resulted in 2 runs after RCB stole a single before bowling a dot ball, taking the wicket of Romario Shepherd and sending another wide again.
Those extra runs somehow shifted the momentum with Bhuvaneshwar Kumar capitalizing and hitting a six in the 4th ball. In the final two deliveries, RCB scored 1 and 2 respectively and eliminated the 5-time champions altogether.
It was indeed a tough moment for Raj Angad Bawa, who could not handle the pressure but was lucky enough to have a captain like Suryakumar Yadav. The latter stated that Raj had been preparing himself to bowl the death overs at the nets but he believed that MI were 10-15 runs short.
“I think he 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. We are not used to being this position often. Hard pill to swallow. Hopefully we will come back well next year.” – Suryakumar Yadav said in the post-match chat.
In their remaining three matches, Mumbai will face Punjab Kings (May 14), Kolkata Knight Riders (May 20) and Rajasthan Royals (May 24).
