A captain's knock by Rajat Patidar and a fiery opening spell by Josh Hazlewood helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) secure a historic 50-run victory over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
This marked RCB's first win at CSK's home ground since the inaugural 2008 season, handing CSK their worst-ever defeat at home. Patidar's commanding 32-ball 51, combined with Hazlewood's game-changing 3-21, proved decisive as RCB posted 196/7 and restricted CSK to 146/8.
The RCB skipper made the most of two early reprieves, capitalising on CSK's fielding lapses to anchor his team's innings. He received solid support from Phil Salt (32), Virat Kohli (31), Devdutt Padikkal (27), and Tim David (22 not out).
Hazlewood’s Double Blow
Josh Hazlewood set the tone early, dismissing Rahul Tripathi (5) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (0) in the same over. RCB never looked back from there.
It was game-changing because we got two-three wickets in the first six overs. Amazing to see how they kept it on the hard length because the ball wasn't coming on to the bat easily.
Supporting Hazlewood, Yash Dayal (2-18), Liam Livingstone (2-28), and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1-20) kept the pressure on, dismantling CSK’s middle order. Though Rachin Ravindra’s 41 provided some resistance, his dismissal further dented CSK's hopes. MS Dhoni’s 30 not out was not enough to salvage the chase.
"Bad Fielding Cost Us"
CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad admitted his team had given away too many runs and failed to apply pressure in the field.
I still feel 170 was a par score on this wicket. It wasn't that easy to bat. Bad fielding cost us. When you're chasing 170, you have a little more time, but when you're chasing 20 runs extra, you have to bat differently in the powerplay and it didn't happen today.
Gaikwad also highlighted the inability to capitalise on their world-class spin attack.
"When you have three world-class spinners in the team, you want new batters to face them. It didn't happen this time; we dropped catches and boundaries kept coming. The momentum didn't stop till the last over."
Bowlers Deliver for RCB
Patidar credited his bowlers for reading the conditions well and executing their plans.
This track was pretty helpful for spinners, so I had it in mind to use my spinners early. Livingstone, in particular, bowled incredibly well.
With this win, RCB not only broke their 17-year drought in Chennai but also sent a strong message in the race for the playoffs.
Brief Scores: Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 196/7 in 20 overs (Rajat Patidar 51, Phil Salt 32, Tim David 22 not out; Noor Ahmad 3-36, Matheesha Pathirana 2-36)
Chennai Super Kings: 146/8 in 20 overs (Rachin Ravindra 41, MS Dhoni 30 not out; Josh Hazlewood 3-21, Yash Dayal 2-18, Liam Livingstone 2-28). Result: RCB won by 50 runs.
