Criticism has stacked up against Tilak Varma, after an altercation with a Mumbai Indian teammate (Naman Dhir) during the IPL 2026 match between MI and RCB in Raipur during the second innings when MI lost a last ball heartbreaker to RCB, officially eliminating MI from playoff contention having won just 3 of their 11 games so far this season.
Mumbai Indians Eliminated After Last-Ball Thriller Against RCB
Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s tremendous four-wicket haul dismantled MI , contributing to a crushing defeat at the hands of a RCB team chasing down 167 runs for victory and sealing the match with a cyptic ending.
Bhuvineshwar ripped apart MI line-up by taking out two major players very early during power play (Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav).
Players/partners on MI team were not able to capitalize (though performing well during that time) due to the loss of early wickets.
However, contributed to build positive momentum going in middle of game with combined efforts between them would have produced a potential greater run total than produced providing a poor ending before the end .
Sealing no victory for MI by contributing no impact due to their failures to turn mixed scores into sizeable runs overall impact on entire team. Most of all, the team finished off with an overall score of 166 runs.
RCB’s Chase Full of Twists and Drama
RCB had several swings in momentum while they batted. Deepak Chahar struck early by getting the first ball of the innings with Virat Kohli out of the game and then he continued to get more wickets, with Devdutt Padikkal another key player in getting RCB out.
Another swing in momentum was caused by Corbin Bosch, who got Rajat Patidar (captain) out in the critical stages of the game.
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Experience also helped Krunal Pandya, an all-rounder who came through for RCB after getting dropped on what would have been a key out. Krunal counterattacked and helped RCB win.
The ending of the game was chaotic as a couple of wides and a no-ball had led to a dramatic drop in the amount of runs required to win. Then Bhuvneshwar Kumar came up with a very good six and RCB finished the game off the last ball.
What Happened Between Tilak Varma and Naman Dhir?
The controversial moment with Tilak Varma was in the last overs of the RCB innings. Krunal Pandya hit a ball from AM Ghazanfar into long on and when the ball was being retrieved Naman Dhir tried to make a relay catch.
When Dhir thought he was too close to going over the rope, he flicked the ball away from himself towards Tilak Varma but Varma did not hold on to the ball.
There was obvious friction between the two Mumbai Indians players after the missed catch as cameras captured them having an argument after the missed catch.
Upon review it was determined that Naman Dhir had released the ball before touching the boundary so the catch could have been completed legally.
The missed chance proved costly as Krunal Pandya capitalised on the lifeline and smashed two more sixes in the same over.
Murali Kartik Criticises Tilak Varma and Naman Dhir Incident
On Cricbuzz, ex-India spinner Murali Kartik condemned the incident at the IPL when Will Jacks of Kolkata Knight Riders and Prithvi Shaw of Delhi Capitals had an argument after the ball went over the boundary line.
Kartik said there should not be any arguments at the crucial stage of a very high-pressure IPL match and both players should have concentrated their efforts on returning the ball as opposed to getting into a quarrel near the boundary ropes.
Kartik also stated that this situation showed that Mumbai Indians had a poor understanding of the game during the crucial part of the match, and there appeared to be frustration in the team due to several years of poor IPL performances.
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