[WATCH] IPL 2026: Hardik and Krunal avoid shaking hands after MI vs RCB clash

The Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat the Mumbai Indians by 22 runs in Match 20 of the 2026 Indian Premier League at the Wankhede Stadium on April 12. 

The game saw Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya, two titans of the competition, come up against each other once more. But, on this occasion, the battle was tense, with observers being able to sense friction between the two brothers.

Coming into bat at 74/2, with the five-time champions needing a whopping 167 to win off 73 balls, Hardik was welcomed with a bouncer by his elder brother Krunal in the following over. Krunal was also seen  celebrating intensely when Hardik fell to Jacob Duffy.

Watch the video here: 

Rumours of a rift between the two brothers have surfaced since the conclusion of the T20 World Cup, when many noticed that elder brother Krunal had not congratulated Hardik on his successful campaign.

Hardik also did not wish his brother, Krunal, on social media for his birthday recently, which fuelled the speculations about the state of their relationship. After the completion of the match, Krunal also did not go out to shake hands with Hardik, and the usual chat that the brothers tend to have after the game was missing as well.

Watch the video here: 

An image of Hardik and Krunal’s mother with Natasha Stankovic, Hardik’s ex-wife and the mother of his child, had been doing the rounds on social media recently, raising doubts on whether issues have been running deeper within the Pandya family. Hardik, of late, has been spending his time with girlfriend Maheika Sharma.

Speaking of the match, the Royal Challengers, being put into bat, scored a mammoth 240/4, courtesy an opening blitz of 78 from Phil Salt and a 20-ball 53 from skipper Rajat Patidar. Mumbai started the chase on the back foot, losing wickets at regular intervals, but a late 31-ball 71 from Sherfane Rutherford helped them reduce the margin of loss to just 22 runs. This is Mumbai’s third loss in four games.