IPL 2025 Pulse - Week #6

RCB break the home jinx

Not many teams have the kind of pattern that RCB had heading into their fixture against RR in Bengaluru on Thursday (April 24). Rajat Patidar's side had won all their away games, five of them, while losing the three games that were played at home. That home jinx was finally broken as RCB beat RR in a high-scoring thriller to strengthen their playoff chances. Fifties from Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal, followed by cameos from Phil Salt, Tim David and JItesh Sharma ensured an above-par total of 205 for RCB on another slightly two-paced Chinnaswamy surface. The pitch, however, did get a bit better to bat on and RR had a blistering start through Yashasvi Jaiswal's stunning assault. Riyan Parag and Nitish Rana got starts, while Dhruv Jurel batted deep but once again, RR bottled a chase from nowhere to end up short.

The genius of Hazlewood shines through

How good was the Australian at the death! Bloody good! Having conceded 26 off his initial two overs in the Powerplay, Hazlewood produced a match-turning spell in the slog overs, conceding just seven off the final overs that also included three scalps. His final over, the game's penultimate one, produced just a solitary run and had two wickets, virtually match-sealing six deliveries produced with aplomb. No wonder RCB's head coach