MI vs RCB beats Dhurandhar The Revenge: Hardik Pandya, Rajat Patidar captain their teams to longest-ever IPL match

Last night's Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru IPL 2026 clash ended up being a marathon.

Updated on: Apr 13, 2026 4:01 PM IST

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Dhurandhar The Revenge has been beaten. Not in terms of box office collection, but by the razzmatazz of the Indian Premier League, possibly the only tournament, sports or entertainment of any kind that could have challenged the highest-grossing Bollywood film in India of all time. Last night’s IPL 2026 clash between the Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru was a first in the league’s 19-year history, stretching to a record four hours and 22 minutes – the longest-ever IPL match to start on time, without any interruptions, reduction in overs or Super Overs. Aditya Dhar’s blockbuster enjoyed a run-time of 3 hours and 50 minutes.

The Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru match went on for 4 hours and 22 minutes (BCCI)

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Overall, in terms of duration, the MI vs RCB match at the Wankhede is the second-longest, behind the MI vs Punjab Kings (formerly Kings XI Punjab) match in 2020. The marathon game lasted five hours and four minutes, requiring a double Super Over shootout to decide the winner. The IPL 2023 matches between the Delhi Capitals and the Kolkata Knight Riders, as well as RCB vs Gujarat Titans, also registered a higher run-time than last night’s contest, at 4 hours 50 minutes and 4 hours 30 minutes, respectively. However, both games started late due to weather restrictions. The first ball was bowled way past the designated start time of 7:30 PM IST.

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Longest IPL matches, but with rain playing a role (before or during the match)

DC vs KKR (2023) – about 4h 50m

RCB vs GT (2023) – about 4h 38m

MI vs RCB (2026) – about 4h 22m

CSK vs MI (2018) – about 4h 15m

MI vs PBKS (2019) – about 4h 11m

Longest IPL matches to start on time without any interval or Super Overs:

MI vs RCB, 2026 – 4h 22m

MI vs PBKS, 2019 – 4h 11m

CSK vs RR, 2019 – 4h 11m

LSG vs CSK, 2025 – 4h 00m

CSK vs LSG, 2024 – 4h 00m

Surprisingly, neither captain – Hardik Pandya or Rajat Patidar – has been fined by the BCCI, a surprising call given how strict it is with over rates. Captains Shreyas Iyer of PBKS, Shubman Gill of GT and Ruturaj Gaikwad of Chennai Super Kings have already copped punishments. Still, despite MI vs RCB going almost till 12 AM, the skippers can consider themselves lucky to get away this time.

Longest IPL matches with and without Super Overs:

Including Super Overs

MI vs KXIP, 2020 – about 5h 4 minutes

MI vs RCB, 2026 – about 4h 22m

MI vs KXIP, 2019 – about 4h 03m

DC vs KKR, 2019 – about 4h 00m

Without Super Overs

MI vs RCB, 2026 – about 4h 23m

MI vs KXIP, 2019 – about 4h 03m

Although there have been games that have hit the four-hour mark – MI vs PBKS in 2019, and CSK vs Rajasthan Royals went on for 4 hours and 11 minutes each, whereas 2024’s CSK vs Lucknow Super Giants clash and the one between LSG and CSK in 2025 clocked at exactly four hours – Dhurandhar 2 was released only last month.

Lastly, the longest IPL match of all time (including every factor/delay)

CSK vs GT, 2023 Final – 30h 05m

MI vs PBKS, 2020 – 5h 04m

DC vs KKR, 2023 – 4h 50m

RCB vs GT, 2023 – 4h 38m

MI vs RCB, 2026 – 4h 22m

MI vs PBKS, 2019 – 4h 11m

CSK vs RR, 2019 – 4h 11m

CSK vs GT beats them all

If everything is to be kept as factors – rain, Super Overs, rain or any other form of mid-match delays, nothing beats the three-day final between CSK and GT in the final of the 2023 IPL. The match, scheduled to start on Sunday, was moved to the reserve day on Monday due to rain, and the toss took place; the summit clash finally got underway. And yet, with plenty of rain around, the game finally concluded close to 3 AM, officially entering Tuesday. The last ball was around 1:30, and it took another 90 minutes to finish the presentation ceremony and hand out the prizes and trophy.

MI-PBKS the recurring theme

Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings are involved in three of these matches. Theirs may not be IPL's loudest rivalry, but it has built a reputation for dragging matches into the deep end and then delivering sharp finishes. Notably, this is the fixture that produced the only double super over in the league's history in 2020, one of the longest games also by elapsed time. It has also thrown up another marathon in 2019, a game that extended well beyond four hours.

The drama is not only about duration. This match-up has repeatedly flirted with tiny margins. Punjab beat Mumbai by one run in 2008, Mumbai won by three runs in 2018, and Punjab edged another high-scoring contest in 2017 by 7 runs. Even the 2024 meeting turned into a near-heist before MI closed it out by 9 runs. So, put together, MI vs PBKS has become one of those IPL fixtures where time stretches, scorelines tighten, and anything short of a thrilling finish rarely feels complete.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Aditya Bhattacharya
Aditya Bhattacharya is the Sports Editor at Hindustan Times Digital, with close to 15 years of experience in sports journalism. Over the course of his career, he has worked with leading media organisations including Cricbuzz, The Times of India, Network18 and Zee. Primarily a cricket writer, Aditya has covered several marquee events, including the 2016 ICC World T20, the 2019 ICC World Cup in England and the 2023 World Cup in India. His reporting portfolio also includes international cricket across England, South Africa and New Zealand, along with forays into tennis, including coverage of the Australian Open. He has interviewed several prominent athletes across sports. Aditya began his career with a brief stint at CricketNext before getting his first major break at Cricbuzz, where he was part of the Times Network’s startup venture GoCricket, which later merged with Cricbuzz. After nearly 18 months there, he moved to The Times of India, covering his first World Cup assignment and reporting first-hand on landmark moments such as Virat Kohli’s iconic innings against Australia in Mohali. During his three-year tenure, he played a key role in both reporting and desk operations and was recognised as TOI Employee of the Quarter in 2016. He later joined Zee, where he covered the 2019 World Cup across five venues in England—an assignment he considers a career highlight. At Hindustan Times, Aditya’s leadership came to the fore as he was promoted to lead the sports team within 18 months. Under his stewardship, the section has delivered extensive coverage of global sporting events, including the IPL, Olympics, Cricket World Cups, FIFA World Cups, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. In 2024, he was named HT DigiStar of the Year. Aditya continues to adapt to the evolving digital publishing landscape, with a sharp focus on search and audience engagement. Outside work, he occasionally plays the guitar and remains an avid gamer.Read More

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