Josh Hazlewood’s fiery spell and Rajat Patidar’s power-packed fifty guide Royal Challengers Bengaluru to their first-ever IPL win at Chepauk since 2008.
Chennai, March 29: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) broke a 16-year jinx at Chepauk with a statement 50-run victory over Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL 2025 showdown on Friday. With two wins in as many games, RCB now sits confidently atop the points table — and finally has a win in Chennai to celebrate since 2008.
The night belonged to Josh Hazlewood, who struck early with a double blow, dismissing Rahul Tripathi (5) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (0) in a fiery second over. His blistering figures of 3/21 throttled CSK’s hopes right from the start.
CSK never recovered from the early damage, reduced to 8/2 and later 30/3 by the end of the powerplay. Sam Curran, Rachin Ravindra, and Shivam Dube tried to resist the RCB bowling assault, but wickets kept tumbling at regular intervals, thanks to pressure spells from Yash Dayal (2/18) and Liam Livingstone (2/28).
Only MS Dhoni brought some late fireworks with an unbeaten 30 off 16 balls, but it was too little, too late as CSK limped to 146/8 in 20 overs.
Earlier in the match, Rajat Patidar played a captain’s knock, smashing a fluent 51 off 32 balls to anchor RCB’s innings after Phil Salt’s explosive start (32 off 16). Despite brief cameos, including Tim David’s fiery 22 off 8 balls*, RCB could only muster 196/7, losing steam in the final overs due to wickets from Noor Ahmad (3/36) and Matheesha Pathirana (2/39).
However, that total proved more than enough on a Chepauk pitch that offered some assistance to seamers and spinners alike.
“We knew the streak had to end sometime – and what better place than Chennai,” Hazlewood said post-match. “I just focused on hitting hard lengths, and the early breakthroughs made the job easier for the rest.”
This win also marked Virat Kohli’s 400th T20 appearance and added another feather to RCB’s impressive early season form under Patidar’s leadership.