"You sent him for 1 ball" - Aakash Chopra questions RR's batting order in IPL 2025 loss vs RCB

Former India player Aakash Chopra has questioned the Rajasthan Royals' (RR) batting order in their IPL 2025 loss to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). He pointed out that Nitish Rana, one of their most proficient players against spin, got to play a solitary ball during their innings.

Rana smashed a four off the only ball he faced, the last delivery of the 20th over, as RR set RCB a 174-run target in Match 28 of IPL 2025 in Jaipur on Sunday, April 13. The visitors achieved the target with nine wickets and 15 deliveries to spare to maintain their 100-percent win record in away games.

Reflecting on RR's batting in their IPL 2025 clash against RCB, Chopra questioned their obsession with a left-right batting combination.

"Why such a left-right obsession? Why do I ask this question? If you compare players with spin-playing ability, I think Nitish Rana is right up there. If you try to find two or three Rajasthan batters with the ability to play spin, he will be there. He had come after having already scored runs in one match," he said (14:15) in a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra'.

"He scored runs against Chennai, and they have good spinners. However, you moved him so low in the batting order. You sent him for one ball. You said you needed a left-right combination. You sent Dhruv Jurel up the order, and he scored five runs off his first 10 balls," Chopra added.

With Yashasvi Jaiswal batting at one end, RR promoted Dhruv Jurel ahead of Nitish Rana and Shimron Hetmyer in their IPL 2025 clash against RCB. Although the wicketkeeper-batter scored an unbeaten 35 off 23 deliveries, his slow start stalled the momentum of the innings.

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"You were wondering whether the team had thought they needed to score only 165" - Aakash Chopra on RR's batting approach in IPL 2025 loss vs RCB

Yashasvi Jaiswal top-scored for RR with a 47-ball 75. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra wondered whether the Rajasthan Royals felt a 165-run total would be enough in their IPL 2025 clash against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

"You were wondering whether the team had thought they needed to score only 165 and that whatever runs were scored above that were extra. All of us were thinking whether that was right. Yashasvi (Jaiswal) played very well and scored runs, which is great. However, you didn't seize the opportunity to score runs because you needed left-right," he said (14:50).

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that RCB's easy win would have made Sanju Samson and company realize their thought process was wrong.

"With Rajasthan, sometimes you feel paralysis by analysis. They overcomplicate things slightly. In the end, when Phil Salt's assault came and (Virat) Kohli stood till the end and you lost the match by nine wickets, you realized that you didn't read the pitch properly," Chopra observed.

To conclude, Aakash Chopra noted that it would have been a huge learning for RR that they need to forget the left-right combination and send the right player instead. The analyst added that he wouldn't be surprised if RR slipped further down the points table, considering how they have performed this season.