Both Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) arrived in Dharamshala, needing a win for separate reasons. The former wanted the win to seal a playoff spot while the latter was desperate to end a five-match losing run. In the end, it was RCB who prevailed and inflicted a sixth straight loss on the Shreyas Iyer-led side.
Regular captain Rajat Patidar’s absence left RCB with a sizeable hole to fill in their batting line-up against PBKS in Dharamshala on Sunday. With one of their most reliable batsmen unavailable, they needed somebody to step in at number four to offer support to Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal. The responsibility went to Venkatesh Iyer.
Before this game, the 31-year-old had barely spent time in the middle. His previous scores were 29 not out and 12, both innings coming as an impact sub batting at number nine. This time, though, the role was completely different. He walked in during the 10th over after Padikkal fell following a 76-run partnership with Kohli.
Venkatesh took a few balls to settle against Harpreet Brar and Yuzvendra Chahal, but once he got comfortable, the left-hander brought a different energy to the innings. He moved around the crease smartly, used his reach well and began finding gaps and boundaries.
His innings gathered momentum in the 14th over with two fours off Brar and then propelled further with two sixes off Chahal in the following over. One of the sixes came with a powerful swing over mid-wicket after clearing his front leg, while another sailed over long-on as he started to dictate terms.
The innings moved into another gear against the pace of Lockie Ferguson. Venkatesh took the speedster for two sixes and a four in the 17th over. The first of those maximums, a lofted hit over mid-off, brought up his first half-century of the season off 33 balls.
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He also showed good awareness at the death, using scoops, paddles and clever placement against Azmatullah Omarzai to keep the scoreboard ticking. By the end, Venkatesh had produced one of his finest IPL knocks, scoring 73 off 40 balls with eight fours and four sixes, with 62 percent of his runs coming on the off side.
For RCB, the innings was valuable not only because of the runs, but also because it showed the team had perhaps found a reliable backup. In Patidar’s absence, Venkatesh grabbed his chance and ensured RCB reached an imposing score.
Pacers run riot
RCB’s impressive IPL 2026 campaign has largely revolved around the batting consistency of Kohli and Padikkal. But the bigger difference-makers have arguably been the fast bowlers, who have repeatedly cracked open games inside the powerplay.
It was no different on Sunday. Defending 222 runs, RCB’s pace attack once again delivered the perfect start and pegged the hosts back immediately.
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Bhuvneshwar Kumar set the tone in the very first over when he dismissed Priyansh Arya for a duck. Bowling from around the wicket, he forced the batter into a mistimed stroke that was safely caught by Romario Shepherd. A couple of overs later, he struck again by removing Prabhsimran Singh for two runs with a delivery that swung away and found the edge.
Rasikh Salam Dar then added to PBKS’ problems by dismissing captain Shreyas Iyer, caught behind for just one, leaving PBKS struggling at 19/3 in the fourth over. Those early wickets effectively broke the backbone of the chase and eventually helped RCB clinch the win and seal the Playoffs spot.
Brief Scores: Royal Challengers Bengaluru 222/4 in 20 overs (Venkatesh Iyer, 73 not out, Virat Kohli 58) beat Punjab Kings 199/8 in 20 overs (Shashank Singh 56, Marcus Stoinis 37; Rasikh Salam Dar 3/36) by 23 runs.
