Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra reckons Royal Challengers Bengaluru are set to qualify for playoffs after their 11-run win against Rajasthan Royals at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on Thursday in the ongoing IPL 2025.
RCB have won six out of their nine games so far in the season and they are ticking the right boxes with both bat and ball. The win against RR was their first at home and they would look to carry the winning impetus.
The likes of Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Phil Salt, Rajat Patidar, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Josh Hazlewood are performing consistently for the team.
Meanwhile, RCB posted 205 runs against RR after Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal scored 70 and 50 runs respectively. Subsequently, Josh Hazlewood bowled a match-winning spell of 4-33.
“The home jinx is also broken. They have registered their first win. RCB are set to qualify, although there is a huge crowd in the race for the top. The match was hanging in the balance till the 38th over. Then came Josh Hazlewood and did an incredible job,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
In the 18th over, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was taken for 22 runs but Josh Hazlewood conceded only one run in the penultimate over and also dismissed a well-settled Dhruv Jurel and Jofra Archer.
“There is only one headline, the 19th over. 18 runs were required in two overs. This match could have gone either way. Dhruv Jurel was batting very well. He had hit 22 runs against Bhuvneshwar Kumar. So you felt the game had been set up,” he observed.
“It was maybe 60-40 in favor of the Rajasthan Royals. However, Josh Hazlewood came and got Dhruv Jurel and Jofra Archer out, and gave just one run in the over, and that’s it, done and dusted,” Chopra noted.
Meanwhile, Yashasvi Jaiswal gave a flying start to Rajasthan Royals as he smashed 49 runs off 19 balls but Josh Hazlewood was able to get the big wicket for RCB.
“He picked up four wickets. When he came for his first spell, he took two wickets there too, and picked up those wickets against the run of play because the way Yashasvi Jaiswal was batting, it seemed like he would win the match single-handedly. However, he dismissed him with a short ball,” he said.
The renowned commentator noted that RCB’s bowling was the game-changer against RR.
“There has been a serious upgrade in the bowling department, and Josh Hazlewood is the one very, very big reason why this team is looking a lot better. You needed might in the bowling as this franchise used to score runs earlier as well,” Chopra observed.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru will next take on Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on Sunday.
