Who said what - top 5 expert reactions on RCB's massive win vs CSK at Chepauk in IPL 2025 ft. Virender Sehwag

The cricket fraternity was impressed by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) as they continued their winning momentum on Friday (March 28). RCB secured a dominant 50-run victory over the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Match 8 of IPL 2025 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

Batting first, RCB were off to a quick start with Phil Salt (32 off 16). Although, Virat Kohli (31 off 30) struggled a bit, the visitors were well supported by impressive knocks from Devdutt Padikkal (27 off 14) and Rajat Patidar (51 off 32). Tim David (22* off 8) provided a late push to elevate RCB's total to 196. Noor Ahmad continued his good form by picking three wickets for the hosts.

In response, CSK lost three wickets in the powerplay. Rachin Ravindra (41 off 31) played a fine knock, but lacked strong support at the other end. Josh Hazlewood took three wickets for RCB, as they restricted CSK to 146/8 and won the game in a comfortable fashion.

Interestingly, it was RCB's first win at the venue against CSK since 2008. On that note, let's take a look at the top expert reactions to their win against the Super Kings.

---

#1 Aakash Chopra

Former cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra appeared on his YouTube channel for the post-match analysis of the CSK-RCB fixture. Chopra feels RCB batters had their belief of them having enough batting depth, which allowed them to play freely.

Along with the side, Chopra also praised Rajat Patidar for leading from the front with his mindset. He said:

"The overriding theme that everybody (RCB players) bought into was, they have batting depth and we will keep going aggressive, irrespective of what happens. (10:15)

"The captain Rajat Patidar had stubborness to walk the talk. He said he doesn't have to put a price tag on his wicket, as Jitesh Sharma, Liam Livingstone and Krunal Pandya will come after me, we have got batting depth. He adopted a selfless approach like Shreyas Iyer. Some people might say he was reckless, but T20 cricket allows you to be reckless."

The 47-year-old also felt that Josh Hazlewood was more concerned about bowling to his strengths, rather than opting for variations, which reaped rewards for him.

"Josh Hazlewood's all three wickets were through short balls. He did not bowl the format, where you vary your lengths by bowling yorkers, bouncers and slower balls. But, he said, my strength is to bowl back of length balls, and will make good use of bouncers in the middle as if I am playing a Test match in Perth. He was brilliant and made a huge difference in the end."

---

#2 Michael Vaughan

An avid follower of IPL, Michael Vaughan is working as an analyst on Cricbuzz Live. The former England captain admitted to being in awe of RCB's batting approach, with the presence of talented players.

He said:

"I am admiring RCB's approach. You actually look at all their kind of pieces, Phil Salt goes out and crashes it nicely. Virat Kohli tried to crash it but he couldn't get going but he's kind of the glue and then you've got Patidar who's playing great, smashes spin so he works in the middle. In the back-end, they've got 10-ball expert, Tim David, who came out and crashed boundaries." (1:55)

Further, Vaughan feels RCB have found out the missing pieces of a puzzle and formed a potent unit in IPL 2025. He added:

"So in terms of their rolls and pieces of the jig-saw, their jig-saw looks like it's put together quite nicely in terms of batting department. I think they've got it absolutely spot-on this year."

---

#3 Irfan Pathan

Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan analyzed the game on his YouTube channel. As per Pathan, RCB is looking strong this season, and hailed the intent of Phil Salt, Rajat Patidar and Tim David's final flourish.

He said:

"RCB looking very good. I had predicted that they will do well this season, as they have sorted their bowling. They have few things to work on, but winning against Chennai in Chennai for the first time after 17 years will give them confidence.

"The way Phil Salt is providing a strong start to the side is the biggest positive thing for them. Although, Virat Kohli was trying his best but could not connect the ball well, but overall Rajat Patidar's batting, although he got reprieve, displayed swag with this shots and I enjoy his batting. But, Tim David's finish was crucial as well. "

Pathan also feels that Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were spot-on with their lengths, which forced CSK batters to make errors.

"Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled quite well and did not let CSK come into the game. They secured early breakthroughs, and we got to witness the bounce and swing, which is their strengths," the former Indian cricketer added.

---

#4 Virender Sehwag

During an interaction on Cricbuzz Live, Virender Sehwag reserved praises for RCB's experienced bowlers, Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He thinks after the duo inflicted early strikes, it wasn't possible for CSK to catch up to the required run rate.

He said:

"No doubt, Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled extremely well in the powerplay. They were the reason why CSK lost two-three wickets, and it is hard to make a comeback from that stage. There haven't been many occasions when a team loses that many wickets in the powerplay and go on to win the game."

While discussing Josh Hazlewood's 15 dot balls through his four-over spell, Sehwag opined that the pacer trusted his strengths to deliver for RCB.

"Hazlewood knows his strengths and he made good use of the bounce off the surface. He took wickets from the short balls in the powerplay, and he knew the lengths which will be most suits for this pitch," Sehwag added.

---

#5 Kamran Akmal

Former Pakistan keeper Kamran Akmal lauded the RCB team management for having a well-balanced side in this season. While discussing their impressive win against CSK, Akmal said on his YouTube channel:

"This is not the older RCB sides, they have a strong bowling as well as batting line-up. It is not easy to defeat five-time champions CSK by 50 runs. RCB has proper five-six bowlers, and they have not sacrificed on anything in this season, they have made a complete team." (0:30)

Akmal also praised Rajat Patidar for his aggressive approach, and predicted that he would be a part of the Indian T20I team in the near future.

"Rajat Patidar is playing with so much clarity with a great strike rate. A captain should lead from the front, this is what he is doing. He could fit into the Indian T20I team, based on his performance in the last two years," he stated.