The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) appear to be a squad that may win the IPL 2025 title, according to former India player Aakash Chopra. He emphasized that since the backup players are playing on par with the starting lineup, injuries are not hurting the team.
On Saturday, May 3, RCB defeated Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by two runs in IPL 2025 Match 52 in Bengaluru. After being asked to bat first, they produced 213/5 and held the visitors to 211/5.
The former India opener stated that everything is moving in their favor and predicted that RCB might end their trophy drought in the 2025 Indian Premier League in a video posted on his YouTube channel, “Aakash Chopra.”
“When you look at the season in totality, you say this and that is going right. Injuries happen, and you become weak, but whoever comes does well. Josh Hazlewood wasn’t available. Lungi Ngidi came and picked up three wickets. He first dismissed Sam Curran and then picked up two more wickets, Ayush Mhatre on 94 and Dewald Brevis for zero.”
Aakash Chopra
“Phil Salt wasn’t there. Jacob Bethell came and batted as incredibly. He scored runs at a strike rate of 170. Krunal Pandya was having a good day, but you took a gamble with Suyash Sharma because MS Dhoni had come. He bowled a six-run over. There was a no-ball in the end, but you won the match despite that. They are looking like a team that can go ahead and lift the trophy.”
Aakash Chopra
RCB leads the points standings with 16 points from 11 games. To secure a position in Qualifier 1, they will aim to place in the top two following the league phase.
Aakash Chopra Praises Jacob Bethell’s Heroics in RCB’s Win Over CSK
In his analysis of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s batting performance on Saturday, Aakash Chopra pointed out that Virat Kohli (62 off 33) extended his winning streak in the IPL 2025, while Jacob Bethell (55 off 33) made up for Phil Salt’s absence.
“Jacob Bethell, the way he started, he didn’t let them feel the absence of Phil Salt. He is a good batter, but he is not an opener. He bats down the order, but he was made to open, and he gets set there. Virat Kohli has hit a fourth consecutive half-century and is batting very fast.”
Aakash Chopra
The former cricket player turned analyst went on to say that when RCB experienced a mini-collapse, Romario Shepherd took the CSK attack to the next level.
“The wagon stopped in the middle. Here comes Romario Shepherd. He did what he did against Anrich Nortje at the Wankhede while playing for Mumbai. He hit Khaleel Ahmed for 33 runs in an over. 54 runs were scored in the last two overs. Romario Shepherd’s storm suddenly changed the game.”
Aakash Chopra
Romario Shepherd came out to bat when RCB were reduced to 157/5 after 17.4 overs. The host team reached 213 thanks to an unbeaten 53 off 14 deliveries from the Caribbean all-rounder, which was just enough.
