Bengaluru, April 24, 2025 — Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) secured their first home victory of the IPL 2025 seasondefeating Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 11 runs in a high-scoring thriller at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. The win propelled RCB to third place in the points table, marking a key moment in their playoff push.
After being asked to bat first, RCB posted a formidable 205/5. Openers Phil Salt (26) and Virat Kohli (70 off 42) gave their side a blazing start with a 61-run partnership. Kohli anchored the innings with 8 fours and 2 sixeswhile Devdutt Padikkal complemented him with a fluent 50-run knockbuilding a 105-run stand for the second wicket.
Late fireworks came from Tim David (23 off 15) and *Jitesh Sharma (20 off 10)**, pushing the total past 200.
Chasing 206Rajasthan Royals began aggressively with Yashasvi jaiswal hammering 49 off 19 balls before being dismissed by Josh Hazlewoodwho turned the game around with a lethal spell in the death overs.
Despite brief resistance from Riyan Parag (22), Nitish Rana (28)and Dhruv Jurel (47)the Royals faltered under pressure. Hazlewood’s 19th overwhere he took crucial wickets, proved decisive. RR eventually finished at 194/9 in 20 overs.
RCB’s bowling unit held their nerve, with Josh Hazlewood picking up 4 wicketsearning him the Player of the Match award. Krunal pandya also impressed with 2 wicketswhile Bhuvneshwar kumar chipped in with one.
This victory takes RCB to 12 pointstying them with Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitalsbut edging ahead on net run rate to claim the third spot in the standings.
