The temperature in Raipur reached boiling point on Sunday night, but it wasn’t just the May heat. At the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, the 54th match of IPL 2026 delivered a masterclass in swing bowling that left the Mumbai Indians (MI) reeling. After Rajat Patidar won the toss and elected to field, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) unleashed a vintage Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who turned the high-stakes encounter into a personal highlight reel within the first three overs of the game.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar turns the game around by removing Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav in two straight deliveries
The Raipur crowd, split between the loyalty for Virat Kohli and the charm of Rohit Sharma, witnessed a dramatic shift in momentum during the third over. Bhuvneshwar, who had already claimed Ryan Rickelton in the opening over for a sluggish 2 off 4 balls, decided to roll back the years.
Rohit had looked dangerous, racing to 22 off just 10 deliveries with two towering sixes, threatening to take the game away early. However, at 2.5 overs, Bhuvi outsmarted the veteran with a perfectly disguised knuckleball. Dangled on a length outside off, Rohit was lured into a loose push, resulting in a thick outside edge that was brilliantly trajectory-intercepted by Jitesh Sharma diving to his right.
The very next ball delivered the knockout blow. Suryakumar Yadav, MI’s captain and the world’s premier T20 batter, walked out to a thunderous reception that was silenced in seconds. At 2.6 overs, Bhuvi produced a “test-match length” delivery that nipped away late. SKY, rooted to the crease, pushed at the moving ball only to find the safe hands of Kohli at slip. In the blink of an eye, Bhuvneshwar’s figures read a staggering 3/10, and Mumbai Indians were left gasping at 28/3.
Here’s the video:
𝘽𝙝𝙪𝙫𝙞-𝙛𝙪𝙡 exhibition of new-ball magic! 🤌
🎥 Just sit back and admire the swing of things! ❤️
Updates ▶️ https://t.co/wYlCB10dhm#TATAIPL | #KhelBindaas | #RCBvMI | @RCBTweets | @BhuviOfficial pic.twitter.com/STbZ16mzbj
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 10, 2026
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MI steady themselves after a disastrous Powerplay collapse against RCB
Despite the early wreckage, the Mumbai Indians demonstrated why they remain one of the most resilient units in the league. While the Powerplay concluded with the scoreboard showing a bruised 53/3, the middle-order pairing of Naman Dhir and Tilak Varma began a calculated rebuilding mission.
The recovery was spearheaded by Dhir, who played the role of the aggressor to perfection. By the time the Strategic Timeout was called at 8.5 overs, Mumbai had clawed their way back to 74/3. Dhir moved to an unbeaten 24 off 18 balls, finding the fence three times and clearing it once, while Tilak provided the perfect foil with a composed 21 off 20 deliveries.
The statistical shift during the middle overs was evident. While Josh Hazlewood (0/21) and Rasikh Salam (0/12) found it difficult to maintain the pressure Bhuvi had applied, MI’s run rate hovered healthily at 8.37. Over the last five overs leading into the timeout, the pair added 44 runs without further loss.
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