Raipur: While both teams have looked polished and equal in terms of strength on paper, there has been a substantial gulf in quality between the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Mumbai Indians this season.
At the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium here on Sunday, the game did hang in the balance until the last ball, but ultimately, it was RCB, who were returning to the venue after 10 years, bouncing back in style with a nervy two-wicket win to go to the top of the table with 14 points.
The Challengers relished a much-needed victory after two consecutive defeats while sealing Mumbai and Lucknow Super Giants' fate for the season with an early exit.
The night, however, belonged to the wily Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4/23), who made Mumbai dance to his tunes with a sensational four-wicket haul.
Chasing a modest 167 for victory, Bengaluru's high-profile top-order, studded with serious quality, failed to apply themselves on a black soil surface which had a few cracks, enough to play in the mind of the batters.
RCB suffered a top-order malfunction, losing three wickets in 5.1 overs to open the game wide for MI to sneak in.
Virat Kohli (0), who became the joint-most-capped player in IPL history, alongside MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma with 278 appearances, had an outing to forget, enduring a second straight duck.
Kohli, who looked to play through the line of the ball that was shaping away, only managed to hit it to Raj Bawa (1/39) at mid-off. The Challengers were suddenly in a spot of bother when Devdutt Padikkal (12), another of their in-form batters, edged it to Ryan Rickelton behind the sticks.
Rajat Patidar (8) soon followed when he tried to pull Corbin Bosch (4/26) but only managed to top-edge it to Rickelton.
With RCB under the pump and feeling the heat, they handed Krunal Pandya (73) a batting promotion. The southpaw, alongside Jacob Bethell (26), stitched a 55-run partnership to ensure the Challengers did not bog down under pressure.
Bethell, on the other hand, who looked a distant shadow of his dominating self, got some time in the middle with his 27-ball stay.
After a tough first six overs, RCB fought back brilliantly in the next six, scoring 51 runs without losing a wicket.
The pendulum swung again when Bethell flicked it straight to Tilak Varma in the first ball of the 13th over to bring Mumbai back into the game.
Just when the pressure started to creep again, Krunal, who was joined by Jitesh Sharma, did not hold back and continued to play positively, reaching his fifty in 32 balls.
Bosch then picked up Jitesh Sharma (12) and Tim David (0) off successive deliveries in the 16th over. Krunal took on Allah Ghazanfar in the 18th over, smashing three sixes but the spinner had the last laugh.
RCB eventually held their nerve and crossed the line, needing 15 off the last over.
Earlier, Bhuvneshwar dismissed the destructive Rickelton (2) in the first over when the Indian veteran had the South African caught at mid-off.
Rohit Sharma (22) brought out his pull shots and took down Josh Hazlewood (1/33) in his first over, which included two sixes.
However, one became two quickly as Bhuvneshwar, riding a nostalgia wave this season, got rid of Rohit. More trouble came Mumbai's way as they lost Suryakumar Yadav (0) on the very first ball after he edged a delivery that hit the length and moved away, straight to Kohli.
While Mumbai were under the pump, it was Tilak (57) and Naman Dhir (47), who saved MI's batting blushes.