"Suddenly, someone woke him up" - Aakash Chopra lauds Jofra Archer's spell in RR's IPL 2025 win vs PBKS

Former India player Aakash Chopra has lauded Jofra Archer for bowling a potent spell in the Rajasthan Royals' (RR) IPL 2025 win against the Punjab Kings (PBKS). He noted that the England seamer virtually sealed the game in RR's favor by striking two blows in his first over after enjoying a nap during the visitors' innings.

RR set PBKS a 206-run target in Match 18 of IPL 2025 in Mullanpur on Saturday, April 5. Archer then registered figures of 3/25 in four overs to help his side restrict the home team to 155/9 and complete a 50-run win.

Reflecting on PBKS' chase in a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra', the former India opener praised Archer for striking telling blows after being woken up from his slumber.

"Jofra was sleeping when Rajasthan were batting. He said he didn't want to see the bowlers getting hit. Then, suddenly, someone woke him up. Everyone might take offense, so I won't say. I was reminded of the guy who used to wake up after sleeping for six months," Chopra said (13:55).

"He woke up and hit Priyansh Arya's stumps with his first ball. After that, Shreyas Iyer hit two shots against him, and then Shreyas Iyer also got out. The guy did an incredible job in the first over, and the story had changed from there itself," he added.

Jofra Archer rattled Priyansh Arya's stumps on the first ball of PBKS' chase and castled Shyeras Iyer with the final delivery of the same over. He later had Arshdeep Singh caught by Wanindu Hasaranga at extra cover to complete his three-wicket haul.

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"He is a special talent" - Aakash Chopra lauds Nehal Wadhera's knock in PBKS' IPL 2025 loss vs RR

Nehal Wadhera scored a fighting half-century in PBKS' IPL 2025 clash against RR. [P/C: Getty]

Reflecting on PBKS' batting, Aakash Chopra lauded Nehal Wadhera (62 off 41) for showcasing his talent.

"Nehal Wadhera - a very good guy. He is a Punjab boy who was with Mumbai. He plays extremely well. You remember the knock he played in Lucknow as well and say what a player he is. He does clean hitting. He is a special talent. If the Mumbai scouts have found someone, he is actually a good player," he said (14:40) in the same video.

While praising the Mumbai Indians (MI) for finding promising players, the cricketer-turned-commentator noted that the game was virtually beyond PBKS' reach despite Wadhera and Glenn Maxwell's (30 off 21) efforts.

"They (MI) are unable to keep everyone with them, but these kids flourish wherever they go. Nehal Wadhera is very, very good. Glenn Maxwell also played well for some time. He was hitting fours and sixes, but the asking rate had gone above 12 at the 10-over stage. It's almost impossible to maintain that for 10 overs," Chopra observed.

Aakash Chopra also praised Sandeep Sharma (2/21 in four overs) and Maheesh Theekshana (2/26 in four overs) for complementing Jofra Archer with the ball. To conclude, the analyst opined that Saturday's IPL 2025 clash against the Punjab Kings was a perfect game for the Rajasthan Royals.