Virat Kohli and Mohammed Siraj - (Source: ScreenGrab/X.com)
The much-awaited IPL 2026 final between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans has turned into a one-sided affair as the Rajat Patidar-led side are on their way towards a 2nd title. For the unversed, GT, batting first, tumbled for just 155 runs on the board.
Venkatesh Iyer and Virat Kohli walked to bat, and eyes were on Mohammed Siraj, who came to bowl the first over. However, things turned ugly when Siraj decided to sledge the southpaw.
Mohammed Siraj Sledges Venkatesh Iyer
On the 4th ball of the first over, Siraj bowled a peach of a delivery that Venkatesh Iyer respectfully defended. However, the bowler wanted drama and hurled a few mouthfuls at the RCB batter as he approached him to collect the ball.
Siraj was constantly provoking and sledging Iyer, almost wanting to draw a reaction from Venkatesh Iyer. However, the RCB batter shrugged off the aggression by passing a smile.
Virat Kohli Comes In Support Of RCB Teammate
Virat Kohli, who was, on the other hand, had enough of the drama, and once the over got completed, he was captured speaking to Siraj. The exact conversation has not been revealed, but it seems that Virat was only telling the Gujarat Titans bowler not to be aggressive.
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Virat Kohli’s reaction quickly went viral on social media.
Mohammed Siraj Gets Rid Of Venkatesh Iyer In The End
After the sledging, Venkatesh Iyer slammed Mohammed Siraj for a four. Eventually, on the 3rd ball of the 5th over, the GT bowler got RCB opener out and celebrated with a send-off.
Mohammed Siraj flung his hands in the air and was happy that his sleding game reaped the fruit for him. However, the southpaw did his job and recieved appreciation from Virat Kohli, who gave him a pat on the back for batting despite injury.
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Venkatesh Iyer Shines in IPL 2026 Final For RCB
For the unversed, Venkatesh Iyer suffered an injury early on in the match and despite recieving a treatement, he continued to bat in pain. The southpaw went all guns blazing and scored a quickfire 32 (16) which set the tone for RCB in the all-important final.
Overall, Venkatesh Iyer siezed the opportunity that came knocking on his door. For the unversed, he was not in RCB's plans early on in the season. However, injuries to Jacob Bethell and Phil Salt forced RCB to bring in Iyer and open the innings with Virat Kohli.
Talking about IPL 2026, then Iyer amassed 209 runs in 6 innings, averaging 52.25. The most important thing here is that his strike-rate has been 186.61. At the time of writing this article, RCB are 115/4 after 12 overs.
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