RCB vs RR IPL 2025: Hazlewood’s master class wrecks Royals after Kohli & Padikkal light up Chinnaswamy Stadium

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For all those who were cribbing Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) are unable to win IPL matches in front of home fans at the fortress called the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Thursday night saw a change in script.

The temptation may be to get swayed by the classy knocks from Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal, but it was Aussie fast bowler Josh Hazlewood who did the trick.

For RCB to win an important match by 11 against Rajasthan Royals runs means their Playoff dream is very much alive and kicking. For RR, IPL 2025 has turned out to be a summer of pain and agony.

Back to the rock star of this win, Hazlewood, he bowled a brilliant 19th over which stifled RR. Till then, it looked the Jaipur-based Pink Panthers could even pull off a win.

Hazlewood, a man who has proved himself for Australia in every format with Tests and ODIs perceived as his strength, is still learning now to improve further in the ruthless T20 club format, where the IPL is a great learning school.

For those who watched the man in his mid-30s control his emotions well and churn out variety which could befuddle the RR batters was engaging. In the first spell, Hazlewood's two overs cost 26 runs. Then came the last two overs where he gave away a miserly seven runs.

The 19th over which Hazlewood bowled was a treat, where he took two wickets and also mixed it up. When bowling to set batters, what can work for a fast bowler is yorker, a slower one and then bolw wide. The more the unpredictability from the bowler (Hazlewood), the harder it became for RR.

Dhruv Jurel was the man who could have won the match for RR, as he had smashed 18 runs off Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the 18th over. It was tense and the match could have gone any way. No, Hazlewood, fire deliveries where the pattern was crazy. To predict which delivery he was going to unleash was impossible to predict.

Hazlewood consumed Jurel and Jofra Archer and gave away just one run. It was a dream of a 19th over which showed, once again, how a fast bowler can turn the match on its head in the IPL.

To be sure, the IPL is a batter's game. But then, we have seen so much improvisation from the bowlers. Name them, and the variety has been absorbing, be it a Trent Boult on Wednesday, Josh Hazlewod on Thursday night and before that Yuzvendra Chahal spinning it for Punjab Kings.

Hazlewood has plenty to offer and all this is due to his experience in the T20 league in Australia plus stints at CSK and now RCB. This is why the bowlers who can be relied on from Australia and New Zealand still get decent auction bids.

If Josh Hazlewood is 34, what does one say about Kolhi, pushing 37 and Padikkal, who has burst back with vengeance. The southpaw knows, he will not be in the Indian mix so easily. But then, the best thing Padikkal can do is keep working on his batting, plunder runs, where the straight six he sent into the stands to bring up his half ton was scary.

For Virat Kohli, this IPL is turning out be a dream run, Sample the social media chatter, how some are now saying he should not have quit T20 internationals. Well, that was a decision Virat, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja took not at the spur of the moment after India won the T20 World Cup last year in the West Indies.

Kohli has worked hard to achieve this state of nirvana. The same hacks who were slamming him for poor scores in the BGT Series in Australia were shut up when he produced important knocks in the Champions Trophy.

Kohli made it clear just after the Champions Trophy, he was not retiring. It was a riposte to fiction written by some cricket expertsas well as former cricketers. There is a vicious Kolkata lobby which has been baying for Kohli's blood and even said Rohit is better than Kohli. That's cricket illiteracy.

All this is unwanted. Kohli deserves no charity from anyone. He bats deep, shows intent and has managed to keep himself so fit throughout the season. Watch all his innings in the IPL 2025, he is not at all in a hurry. He has decided, with Phil Salt at the top, he will spice it up for RCB.

Salt went for 26 runs but Kohli was there for a long time. The nuanced part, he is not trying to whack his way out of the woods but support the man in form, Padikkal.

Their partnership glowed under the arc lights. If Padikkal was racing like a car in overdrive to score 50 off 27 balls, decorated with four fours and three sixes, Kohli scored 70 off 42. He essayed eight boundaries and two sixes.

For those who want to know about Kohli, he wants to push till the ICC World Cup (ODI) in 2027. But then, if the BCCI wants him to play the ICC T20 World Cup in 2026, Kohli will not refuse.

Do not forget, when the ICC campaigned for the inclusion of cricket at the LA Olympics in 2028, Virat Kohli was showcased as the face of it. Now you know why!