Former India player Aakash Chopra believes the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will in the playoffs in the IPL 2025. When the team played the Rajasthan Royals (RR) at home, he praised Josh Hazlewood for delivering a crucial penultimate over.
On Thursday, April 24, in Match 42 of the IPL 2025 in Bengaluru, RCB set RR a target of 206 runs. After limiting the visitors to 194/9 with a spell of 4/33 in four overs, the home team won by 11 runs and moved up to third place in the standings.
The former India opener, in a video posted on his YouTube channel ‘Aakash Chopra,’ gave Hazlewood credit for placing RCB on the edge of a playoff berth and snapping their home victory drought.
“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
Aakash Chopra observed that going into the penultimate over of their pursuit, RR appeared to be in a stronger position.
“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.”
Aakash Chopra
The former cricket player turned analyst went on to say that Hazlewood’s dismissals of the well-set Dhruv Jurel (47 off 34) and Jofra Archer (0 off 1), along with his one-run loss in the 19th over, all but guaranteed the victory for RCB.
“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.”
Aakash Chopra
Josh Hazlewood’s spectacular over left RR needing 17 runs from the final over with three wickets in hand. Wanindu Hasaranga was run out on the third delivery, while Shubham Dubey was dismissed by Yash Dayal on the first ball, limiting the visitors to just five runs.
Aakash Chopra Lauds Hazlewood’s Spell That Halted Jaiswal’s Charge
Aakash Chopra mentioned in the same video that Josh Hazlewood had dismissed Shimron Hetmyer (11 off 8) in the 17th over, claimed two wickets in his penultimate over, and had got the vital wicket of Yashasvi Jaiswal (49 off 19) in his first session.
“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.”
Aakash Chopra
The pundit went on to say that one of the main reasons why RCB’s bowling attack has changed the course of the 2025 Indian Premier League is Hazlewood’s performances.
“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.”
Aakash Chopra
During Thursday’s game Krunal Pandya secured two vital wickets while Suyash Sharma delivered his overs at a tight economy according to analyzing expert Aakash Chopra. He thanked Rajat Patidar for his effective management of bowling resources.
