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Royal Challengers Bengaluru batter Venkatesh Iyer appeared to copy the pose of Tamil cinema superstar 'Thalapathy' Vijay while celebrating his half-century against the Punjab Kings in IPL 2026.
RCB are taking on PBKS in Dharamsala on Sunday in what will be the penultimate league game for both sides in the tournament. RCB have one foot in the door to the playoffs, while PBKS are struggling to keep up.
Venkatesh Iyer's innings against PBKS
Coming in to bat at No. 4, Iyer continued on the foundation set up by Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal and made an unbeaten 73 runs in just 40 balls with 8 fours and 4 sixes.
In the seventeenth over of the innings, Iyer brought up his fifty off just 29 balls by hitting a six against Lockie Ferguson. After bringing up the milestone, he celebrated in the Vijay pose. Kohli had also made fifty while Padikkal made 45. All these contributions, alongside Tim David's strong finish, meant that RCB put up 222 for PBKS.
VENKATESH IYER RE-CREATED THALAPATHY VIJAY CELEBRATION 🥶 pic.twitter.com/GcOhrfqQQ2
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) May 17, 2026
Venkatesh Iyer in IPL 2026
Iyer's chances at this year's IPL have essentially been few and far between. He has played only 4 matches out of 13 for RCB this year, with the defending champions preferring Devdutt Padikkal and Romario Shepherd over him.
In 2 matches, Iyer was brought in as the Impact Player despite RCB batting first to try and save a collapse. Against his former team, KKR, Iyer was formally included in the Playing XI but didn't get to bat. And against PBKS, he managed his first fifty in RCB colours.
In 3 innings, Venkatesh Iyer has made 114 runs at a strike rate of almost 163. He has also gotten out just once, and hence has a batting average of 114.
Venkatesh Iyer was brought in as a first XI player owing to Romario Shepherd's poor form, but the absence of skipper Rajat Patidar has kept Iyer in the Playing XI for now, and this particular game will bolster his case.
RCB and Punjab Kings qualification scenario in IPL 2026
RCB are in an excellent position to make the playoffs and will need just one win to confirm qualification. If they lose both their remaining games, RCB will have to depend on other results to make the last four.
If they win one and lose one, RCB will make the playoffs, but they will depend on other results to stay in the top two. Table toppers RCB have the best Net run rate in the league, and that will be a big boost for them.
Punjab Kings have lost five in a row after going 7 matches unbeaten. Punjab will need to win both their remaining matches in order to control their destiny in the last four. Losing another match will mean that the Kings will have to win the other one and still depend on other results to make the top four.
