Bhuvneshwar Kumar of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (AP Photo) Bhuvneshwar Kumar continued his impressive IPL 2026 campaign with another fine spell for Royal Challengers Bengaluru during their clash against Mumbai Indians in Raipur on Sunday. The veteran pacer finished with excellent figures of 4/23 from his four overs, again showing why he has been one of the most consistent bowlers of the season. His spell helped RCB restrict Mumbai to 166/7 on a surface that offered uneven bounce and help for the seamers. Bhuvneshwar struck in the opening over by dismissing Ryan Rickelton before coming back to remove Rohit Sharma with a smart ball. He then sent back Suryakumar Yadav for the first ball to leave MI in early trouble. The RCB seamer completed his haul four wickets later by dismissing Tilak Varma, who threatened to take Mumbai to a much bigger total with a half-century. With this performance, Bhuvneshwar moved to 21 wickets in IPL 2026 and climbed back to the top of the wicket-taking charts. He currently holds the Purple Cap with an impressive economic odds of 7.47. The spell against MI was also the sixth occasion this season that Bhuvneshwar has taken three or more wickets in an innings. Only Harshal Patel had previously achieved this feat in a single IPL season, six times in 2021.
IPL 2026 Purple Cap Standings After Match 54:
RankingPlayerTeamWicketsMatchesEconomy1Bhuvneshwar KumarRCB21117.472Anshul KambojCSK19119.203Kagiso RabadaGT18119.364Prince YadavLSG16118.175Eshan MalingaSRH16119 Bhuvneshwar’s performances have been one of the biggest positives for RCB this season, as the veteran fast bowler has repeatedly produced crucial breakthroughs both with the new ball and in the death overs.
