Dharamsala, May 17 -- After winning the Player of the Match award, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer reflected on his match-winning, unbeaten 73 against Punjab Kings (PBKS), saying he was pleased to finally get a proper opportunity with the bat and make it count in his team's victory.

RCB became the first team in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 to qualify for the playoffs after defeating PBKS by 23 runs in a run fest at the HPCA Stadium here on Sunday.

Speaking during the post-match presentation, Venkatesh said he was happy to finally get a proper opportunity with the bat and contribute to the team's win.

"Today is the first time I got to properly bat. That was the pleasing thing, and getting two points ...