RCB became the third team after CSK and MI to win two consecutive IPL trophies.
GT had posted 155/8 after being asked to bat first, and Iyer took on the GT bowlers in the chase after hurting his knee. His runs came off just 16 balls, with 4 fours and 2 sixes, adding 62 runs for the first wicket in only 4.3 overs with Virat Kohli.
Kohli then made 75* to lead RCB to the win in 18 overs and 5 wickets in hand, making them two-time IPL champions.
Venkatesh Iyer, once among the top-paid players in the league who arrived in Bengaluru for a price of Rs 7 crore ahead of the 2026 season, continued to remain a punching bag on social media because of a flop 2025 campaign with the Kolkata Knight Riders.
After captain Rajat Patidar was sidelined by an injury during the league campaign, Venkatesh scored an undefeated 73 runs against the Punjab Kings. Venkatesh described how he used his bat to speak for him by channeling the vitriol he was receiving online.
"To say that it did not impact me would be wrong. It does impact everyone. But yeah, to react to it is something that I would never do, because I've maintained it time and time again: this is my life, my career, and I'm completely accountable for it, and I'm taking care of it. If I've done badly, I don't need people to tell me that I've done badly. I know it. I understand cricket enough," Iyer told NDTV's Consulting Editor Boria Majumdar in an exclusive interview.
Despite the online hatred, Iyer stated that his chosen career path throws such challenges at him. He also expressed gratitude to the RCB environment for enabling him to overcome these obstacles and perform well on the field.
"But yeah, abuse and all, it's going to be there. You know it. You know, if you do well, people will talk. If you don't do well, people will talk. The only thing that you can do is control your efforts and control your attitude. You know, more than efforts, control your attitude. That's what I've been trying to do.
And yeah, I'm very lucky that I was in an environment that suited my attitude and my, you know, approach towards the game. So, I was really happy; you know, I never felt like I was away from the setup. I've never felt like I don't belong here or anything like that. I completely felt at home, and that's what I think kept me going," he said.
According to Venkatesh, a player's actions are essentially determined by the first ten balls of the innings. He was grateful for Virat Kohli's help at the beginning of the match against the Punjab Kings.
"It's actually about fighting the first 10 balls. I think it's not just me, you know, the legends of the game also. It's that the backhand is actually the first few balls. And so if you're playing regularly, those first few balls become fewer and fewer. But if you're not playing, if you are just walking into the ranks and, you know, all these things, the first few balls are actually where you kind of are searching for who you are. You're getting into the groove,” Iyer told Majumdar.
Fortunately for me, I was batting alongside Virat in that game, and the platform was set. So I was able to, you know, not chew up a few balls, but I was able to take my time. And once, as you said, it starts hitting the middle of the bat, you kind of zone out. You kind of forget what all is happening or what has happened, or, you know, you forget everything and you just focus on how you want to hit the ball. And at the end of the day, that is cricket, right? How you're hitting the ball, how you're reacting to situations. And as you said, the first few balls after that completely felt like unknown territory for me," he said.
(NDTV inputs)