Hazlewood’s Heroics Secure Thrilling RCB Home Win Against Struggling Royals in IPL 2025

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) secured a dramatic 11-run victory over the Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in a high-scoring IPL 2025 encounter, finally breaking their home win drought. Josh Hazlewood’s exceptional bowling performance in the penultimate over proved decisive, halting RR’s chase and securing a vital win for RCB. Virat Kohli’s composed half-century (70) anchored RCB’s innings, while Devdutt Padikkal also contributed significantly with a 50. Tim David and Jitesh Sharma provided a late surge, propelling RCB to a formidable total of 205 for 5, their highest at home this season.

RR’s chase began promisingly, with Yashasvi Jaiswal’s explosive 49 and Nitish Rana’s fluent knock putting them in a commanding position at 110 for 2 after just nine overs. However, Krunal Pandya’s crucial intervention, dismissing both Parag and Rana, stalled RR’s momentum and tightened the screws in the middle overs. Dhruv Jurel’s late counter-attack, a spirited 47 off 33 balls, reignited RR’s hopes, particularly after a costly 18th over from Bhuvneshwar Kumar. With 18 runs required from the final two overs, the match hung in the balance.

Hazlewood’s 19th over proved to be the turning point. He executed a perfect wide yorker to dismiss Jurel, caught behind, and immediately followed it up by removing Jofra Archer with a well-directed short ball. This exceptional over, conceding just one run and claiming two crucial wickets, swung the momentum decisively in RCB’s favor. Hazlewood finished with impressive figures of 4 for 33, having also dismissed Shimron Hetmyer earlier in the innings. Yash Dayal maintained his composure in the final over, restricting RR and confirming their fifth consecutive defeat.

Kohli’s innings, his first half-century at home this season, was a testament to his resilience. After a cautious start against Archer’s pace, he steadily gained confidence and control. Padikkal capitalized on two dropped catches, converting his opportunity into a valuable half-century. While RR managed to claim quick wickets towards the end, the crucial 42-run partnership between David and Jitesh in the final overs proved invaluable in setting a challenging target.

This victory elevates RCB into the top three of the IPL 2025 standings, significantly boosting their playoff prospects. Conversely, the loss deepens RR’s woes, marking another setback in a season that is rapidly slipping away. “Josh’s over was game-changing,” commented a relieved RCB coach after the match. “His execution under pressure was outstanding and made all the difference.”