
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) sealed their qualification to the IPL 2026 playoffs with their win over Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Sunday, and Virat Kohli seemed to be in a good mood during the game. Not only did he slam a half-century, Kohli also engaged in some friendly banter with some opposition players, most notably Harpreet Brar. In a video that went viral on social media, Kohli can be seen jokingly taunting Brar for throwing the ball towards the other end despite him being out of his crease.
Kohli had nudged a ball towards backward point and tried to sneak a single, but chose not to, given how close Brar was.
However, Brar did not throw it towards Kohli’s end, despite the RCB star not having returned to his crease by then. At that moment, Kohli took the mickey out of the situation, intentionally staying outside his crease and staring at Brar.
Just a Punjabi boy having some pure fun against the Punjab side #TATAIPL Race to Playoffs 2026 #PBKSvRCB | LIVE NOW https://t.co/OJhb8ljCPI pic.twitter.com/bNtBk8sjjy
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) May 17, 2026
The hilarious moment got the crowd at Dharamsala cheering. After the incident, Kohli was seen making a funny gesture towards batting partner Devdutt Padikkal.
PBKS vs RCB, IPL 2026: As it happened
Virat Kohli and Venkatesh Iyer struck half-centuries to help defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru become the first team to qualify for the IPL play-offs with a 23-run win over Punjab Kings on Sunday.
In-form Kohli struck 58 off 37 balls before Venkatesh hit an unbeaten 73 to steer the team to 222/4 after being invited to bat first in the Himalayan hill town of Dharamsala.
The bowlers, led by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, then restricted Punjab to 199/8 despite a late batting charge by Marcus Stoinis, who hit 37, and Shashank Singh, who made 56.
Bengaluru, who won their first IPL title in 18 attempts last year, consolidated top spot in the points table and secured their place in the play-offs.
Runners-up last year, Punjab, who started the season with six victories and one no-result, suffered their sixth successive defeat and are no longer in control of their fate.
With AFP inputs
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