There are games that are long, games that are dramatic, and then there is whatever happened between the Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Wankhede stadium yesterday.
WOAH! That was a long ass match, to say the least.
What should have been a standard T20 game on a regular Sunday night ended up lasting a total of 4 hours and 22 minutes (some reports say 4 hours 23 minutes)!!!!!!
Bahaha, we’re losing our minds. We got a test match-coded IPL match before GTA VI.
Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru Turns Into IPL Marathon
To put that into perspective, the massively talked-about Aditya Dhar film, Dhurandhar: The Revenge (3 hours and 50 minutes), ran shorter than the IPL league game between these two teams. So to put it simply, cricket won, and cinema lost here!
Sorry, Dhar Saab, you deserve better.
The match between the Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru has now been recorded as the longest IPL match that started on time and ended without rain interruptions and no Super Over or tie-breaker. That means it caused no weather issues, there was no unfairness because both teams received the same advantages and only slow-paced cricket entertaining us.
As you can imagine, the Twitter (and of course Reddit) world had plenty to say!
Why Mumbai Indians vs RCB Took Longer Than A Bollywood Film
Because it seems that everyone involved made clocks optional.
To put into real POV, the game included:
- 11 reviews
- At least five injury-related stoppages
- Players going down for medical assistance
- Players experiencing dehydration from the oppressive heat of Mumbai
- Stopping and starting due to momentum
- Concerns regarding slow over rates
- There were several wides that required longer than usual for the umpires to deal with and Also there were multiple over extensions
And one report stated that there may have been no hotter day in Mumbai this summer than yesterday. Fans were wondering why the game seemed to go on forever, while the players basically had to tough it out during a live-action heat challenge.
Sherfane Rutherford (who came within a hair of chasing down MI’s total) said that the constant stoppages in play made it really tough to bat because every time Rasikh Salam bowled a delivery, there was just a ridiculously long break from the last one and momentum would just fade away.
Yesterday had even the players saying, please, GOD, let the game start moving.
And the scorecard was pretty sus, too.
There were plenty of runs flying around on this day; it was not a low-scoring snoozefest with long delays lasting till the end.
When RCB were batting first, they scored 240/4 in 20 overs with flex-worthy performances from:
- Phil Salt from England scored 78 runs off 36 balls
- Virat Kohli scored 50 runs off 38 balls
- Rajat Patidar scored 53 runs off 20 balls
- Tim David scored 34 runs off 16 balls
That is not just a batting card, it’s more like a jump-scare!
Mumbai Indians scored 222-5 in response to RCB’s total, but they were dragged deep into their innings due mainly because of Sherfane Rutherford’s explosive 71 runs off just 31 balls*, which included a number of sixes and late-inning hopefuls.
Although Hardik Pandya did his bit with 40 runs off 22 balls, it was not enough to get MI over the line.
Meanwhile, Krunal Pandya took 1/26 in his spell.
So was MI VS RCB 2026 the longest IPL match ever?
That would depend on how extreme you are willing to get with that statement.
If we are talking about the longest duration of an IPL match ever, then no, that title is still held by the legendary MI vs Punjab Kings, partially because of needing two super overs to decide the game back in 2020 in Dubai, which took 5 hours 4 minutes to complete. It was an absolute classic!
However, if we are looking strictly at the longest IPL match that started on time (no rain or interval delay and no super over), then yes, MI vs RCB in 2026 now owns this title.
In other words, it is by far the longest marathon of all-time in IPL history.
Also, this match has been added to a distinguished list of IPL matches that just couldn’t seem to end.
Longest IPL Matches (Including Delays)
CSK vs GT – Final 30h 05m
MI vs PBKS – 5h 04m
DC vs KKR – 4h 50m
RCB vs GT – 4h 38m
MI vs RCB – 4h 22m
MI vs PBKS – 4h 11m
CSK vs RR – 4h 11m
The first line isn’t a joke, the CSK vs GT Final technically lasted over 30 hours due to the rain having forced the final onto the reserve day.
Once people realised an IPL match had lasted longer than Dhurandhar, the memes arrived faster than an RCB powerplay.
One viral reaction said this was “4 hours of T20 basically being a Test match in disguise.” Another joked that “Aditya Dhar thought he made the longest action epic of the year, but IPL scriptwriters said hold my drink.”
T20 was sold as a fast exploding, no time wasted form of cricket.
But lately, it seems fans are starting to blink, check their watch, order more food, and just start to question why yet another delivery has been bowled after over number 17.
Major Issue, Is T20 Slowing Down?
The above is essentially the question lurking behind every joke.
Multiple reports pointed toward the IPL’s revised over-rate rules. Earlier, captains could face stricter penalties and even suspensions after repeated offences. Now, with a demerit-points system spread over a long period, critics believe the urgency to finish overs quickly has reduced.
The net results have been longer batting innings, more stoppages, and more games finishing past midnight.
And for a format that is essentially made and marketed worldwide as fast-paced entertainment, this feels more like a snooze-fest.
When MI vs RCB provided fans tons of sixes, stars, over 462 total runs scored, excitement of an incredible late chase, tons of viral memes from the night, and a new place in IPL history, it also created a real discussion, if T20 matches are starting to feel longer than blockbuster movies, then what the hell are we doing here?