Kumar Sangakkara fumes at Riyan Parag:Virat Kohli’s animated celebrations, Venkatesh Iyer performs Thalapathy Vijay’s pose

Sunday, 17 May, witnessed two blockbuster matches with some jaw-dropping action. Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) defeated the Punjab Kings (PBKS), handing them their sixth consecutive loss this season. With this win, RCB became the first team to qualify for the playoffs. In the second match of the day, Delhi Capitals (DC) beat the Rajasthan Royals (RR) to keep their slim playoff chances alive. Both the matches witnessed several top moments. Let’s take a look at them.
RCB vs PBKS Top Moments
1) Venkatesh Iyer performs Thalapathy Vijay’s celebration after fifty Included in the side as a replacement for captain Rajat Patidar, Venkatesh Iyer made the opportunity count big time. The tall left-hander struck an unbeaten 40-ball 73, his first fifty for RCB, to take his team to 222/4. After reaching his fifty off 29 balls, Iyer criss-crossed his arms and performed the celebration made famous by Vijay. Vijay recently took oath as Tamil Nadu chief minister. 2) Virat Kohli’s animated on-field reactions It is pretty well-known that Virat Kohli is highly animated on the field. When it comes to fielding, Kohli is an absolute livewire on the field, and the RCB great does not shy away from showing his emotions whenever there’s an opportunity. Against the Punjab Kings, the star cricketer displayed a range of emotions while fielding. From ruing missed opportunities to celebrating wickets with a roar, Kohli showed all his emotions. After a clip of animated reactions was shown on the big screen, Kohli could not help but let out a smile. 3) Azmatullah Omarzai’s six hits display car Azmatullah Omarzai smoked a big six on the off-side and the ball went on to the hit the car displayed along the boundary. This was on the las ball of the 18th over when Omarzai came down the track and smashed a Bhuvneshwar Kumar delivery over cover. The ball flew past the boundary and hit the region near the left back wheel. Earlier KKR Cameron Green had also hit a six that hit the display car during a match against the Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad. 4) Ricky Ponting sits dejected in Punjab dugout Ricky Ponting cut a sorry figure in the Punjab Kings’ dugout after his team’s defeat. The Shreyas Iyer-led side suffered their sixth loss in a row and this defeat to the defending champions jeopardised their playoff hopes big time. After the loss, Ponting was seen sitting alone in the dugout, staring at the ground. 5) Jacob Bethell’s acrobatic save to deny Shashank a six Jacob Bethell pulled off an acrobatic save to save a six in the second innings. This happened on the last ball of the 19th over when Shashank pounced on a full toss by Josh Hazlewood. The ball seemed destined for a six, but Bethell had other ideas. The Englishman jumped on time and pushed the ball back into the field of play. 6) Tim David slaps thigh after RCB beat Punjab Kings Tim David slapped his thigh in ‘Punjabi’ style after RCB defeated PBKS. David took a good catch that helped Rasikh Salam Dar dismiss Azmatullah Omarzai on the last ball of the match and thumped his high while looking at the fans. DC vs RR Top Moments 1) Kumar Sangakkara’s angry outburst Kumar Sangakkara was visibly angry during the second innings of the match. The Rajasthan Royals’ head coach came out of the dugout and made his feelings pretty clear. His angry reaction was caught on camera. The Rajasthan Royals were a bit sloppy on the field. Also, captain Riyan Parag’s decision to bowl Donovan Ferreira in the 18th over, which yielded 16 runs, came into the spotlight after RR’s loss. 2) Mitchell Starc’s three-wicket over Mitchell Starc produced a sensational three-wicket over that turned the game in favour of the Delhi Capitals. This was the 15th over of the first innings, where he took three wickets in four balls to break the back of the Rajasthan Royals’ batting order. The blow was so severe that RR never recovered from that and eventually posted a below-par score, which was not enough for the Riyan Parag-led side. 3) DC players thank the fans for their support After the end of the match, DC players and their support staff did a lap on the ground to thank the fans for their love after what has been a roller-coaster campaign for Delhi.