Match overview
Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Mumbai Indians by 12 runs at Wankhede Stadium on 7 April 2025 in what turned into a match shaped almost entirely by their contrasting starts. RCB posted 221/5 after Mumbai Indians won the toss and elected to field. The visitors' chase reached 209/9, a decent total in its own right but 12 runs short of what was required. RM Patidar was named Player of the Match. The result edges RCB to 15 wins against MI across 35 head-to-head meetings in the IPL, though Mumbai still lead the all-time record 19 to 15.
RCB's powerplay was the match's decisive phase. They scored 73/1 in the first six overs, well above Wankhede's venue average of 45 powerplay runs. That platform held up through the middle overs, where they added 78/3, and the death brought 70/1 to close out a total of 221. It was a balanced, disciplined innings rather than one built on a single cameo.
Mumbai's response was initially encouraging. Their middle phase produced 103 runs for just 2 wickets, keeping them within range going into the final stages. But 5 wickets fell for 52 runs in the death overs, and the asking rate became impossible. A 12-run defeat in a match you nearly hauled back from 73/1 down in the powerplay differential is a hard one to take.
Venue and conditions
Wankhede Stadium has hosted 196 matches in our dataset, making it one of the most data-rich venues in world cricket. The average first-innings score here is 186, and the average second-innings score is 171. RCB's 221 was well above the former; MI's 209 was well above the latter. Both teams scored significantly above par, which tells you the surface was flat and true.
The venue's toss data is worth dwelling on. Fully 71% of captains who win the toss at Wankhede choose to bowl. Hardik Pandya followed the convention. What the numbers also show is that chasing teams win 55% of the time here, so bowling first is not an irrational call. On this occasion, RCB's powerplay dismantled the logic: a score of 221 simply gave MI too much to do.
Dew is a consistent factor in evening T20s at Wankhede. Bowling second into a dew-affected outfield makes grip difficult for seamers in particular, which tends to inflate death-over totals. RCB's death score of 70/1 may partly reflect that. MI's corresponding 52/5 at the death looks all the more dramatic in that context.
How to watch
In the United Kingdom, the IPL is broadcast on Sky Sports Cricket. Live streaming is available through Sky Go and NOW TV with an appropriate subscription. Match start times in India typically translate to mid-afternoon or early evening UK time depending on the time of year, so checking the schedule in advance is advisable.
For fans without a Sky subscription, highlights and clips are available on the IPL's official digital channels shortly after each match concludes.
Recent form
RCB came into this fixture in reasonable shape. They had won two of their previous three IPL outings in 2025, beating Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders before losing to Gujarat Titans. Their win here extends that sequence and keeps them in the hunt in what is an early but important stretch of the IPL season.
Mumbai Indians were in a more difficult position. They had lost three of their last four matches before this fixture, including defeats to Lucknow Super Giants, Gujarat Titans, and Chennai Super Kings in 2025 alone. Their only win in that run came against Kolkata Knight Riders. A home defeat at Wankhede, where they are historically strong, puts added pressure on their campaign. The gap between MI's middle-overs composure and their death-overs collapse suggests there are still areas of the squad that need to click together before they find consistent form.
