Tim David has been penalised with a 30% cut to his match fee and two demerit points after breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s nail-biting, last-ball win over Mumbai Indians in Raipur. The incident took place in the midst of the celebrations that followed RCB’s dramatic two-wicket triumph at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium on Sunday.
Bengaluru were chasing 167 on a challenging track and finally sealed the result on the final delivery. Rasikh Salam Dar scrambled back for the decisive second run as the match swung to RCB after a tense finish. With the dugout erupting, cameras caught David making an offensive hand gesture while celebrating Mumbai’s elimination from the tournament. The clip spread quickly across social media amid the disorder and excitement right after the final whistle.
The league later confirmed the punishment in an official media advisory on Monday. The statement said David was found to have breached Article 2.6 of the IPL’s Code of Conduct, which covers “using a gesture that is obscene, offensive or insulting.” It added that the Australian all-rounder accepted the sanction handed down by match referee Amit Sharma.
“Tim admitted to the offence and accepted the sanction imposed by Match Referee, Amit Sharma,” the advisory noted. The matter came after one of the matches of the IPL 2026 season, in which RCB needed to dig deep despite a rocky start during the chase.
How RCB’s chase unfolded
- RCB began the chase by losing Virat Kohli for a golden duck and were reduced to 47/3 during the powerplay.
- Krunal Pandya responded under pressure, playing a gritty innings of 73 despite suffering severe cramps.
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar played a major role with both bat and ball, first dismantling Mumbai’s top order with figures of 4/23.
- With the match still in the balance, Bhuvneshwar struck a crucial six in the final over to shift momentum back toward Bengaluru.
- Bengaluru ultimately reached the target and secured a two-wicket victory off the last ball, sealing Mumbai’s exit from playoff contention in the process.
The result propelled RCB to the summit of the IPL 2026 points table while officially ending Mumbai Indians’ playoff hopes.
