Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) last resort opener Venkatesh Iyer did not carry his Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 form into Madhya Pradesh Premier League (MPPL) 2026. Iyer demoted himself to no.4 and departed for just one run in the run chase as Indore Pink Panthers lost to Bhopal Leopards at Holkar Stadium, Indore.

Leopards' skipper Aniket Verma won the toss and opted to bat first. They were all out for 174 in 20 overs. Iyer bowled just one over and conceded 10 runs. Panthers' Roshan Kewat claimed three wickets. For Leopards, Himanshu Shinde was the top scorer. Shinde scored 44 runs from 29 balls, including four fours and a couple of sixes.

In the run chase, the Panthers lost two wickets in the third over. Siddharth Patidar and Karan Tahliyani fell cheaply to Pawan Nirwani. Iyer walked out to bat and scored just one run before falling to Kamal Tripathi in the fourth over. The Panthers lost six wickets for 62 runs. The partnership of 74 from 53 balls between Saransh Surana and Shubham Rathore revived the run chase, but Panthers lost four wickets for just 11 runs and were bowled out for 147 in 18.5 overs. Iyer's side lost the match by 27 runs.

Iyer had pulled his hamstring in the IPL 2026 final against the Gujarat Titans (GT). Despite the pain, he continued to bat and contributed with a 16-ball 32 in the powerplay overs. The southpaw hit four fours and a couple of sixes before falling to Mohammed Siraj in the fifth over. When he departed, RCB already had 62 runs on the board in the run chase of 156 at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. After RCB's second consecutive title win, Virat Kohli revealed that the discussion between him and Iyer was to kill the game in the powerplay overs of the run chase itself.

Iyer only got a chance when RCB suffered a batting collapse and sent him as an impact player down the order. Then, he batted in the middle order before getting promoted as an opener after injuries to English openers Phil Salt and Jacob Bethell. In six innings, he scored 209 runs at an average of 52.25 and a strike rate of 186.60, including an unbeaten 73 against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Dharamsala.