Shane Watson believes that Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) might go the distance in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. The former RCB all-rounder also predicted Virat Kohli to win the Player of the Match award in the IPL final.
RCB finished second on the points table at the end of the league phase. They won nine games and lost four, while one was washed out. Rajat Patidar and Co. registered a memorable win against Lucknow Super Giants in the last match of the league stage, chasing down a 228-run target, their highest in the IPL. Now, the Bengaluru-based franchise will lock horns with Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Qualifier 1 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur on Thursday, May 29.
Josh Hazlewood has been one of RCB’s stellar performers this season. He has bagged 18 wickets from 10 matches at an average of 17.28. The Australian pacer missed the last few games due to injury, and RCB conceded 200-plus totals in each of them. However, he is expected to return to the side against PBKS, and Watson feels that this would give RCB the edge.
“The winner of IPL 2025, and Iāve been thinking long and hard about it, is RCB. And the Man of the Match for me is Virat Kohli, the great man. And here’s the reason why. I just get a feeling that this is the time for RCB. They have had a few blips in the back end of the tournament, but with Josh Hazlewood coming back for the Playoffs, I get a feeling this is the year,” Watson said in a video shared on his ‘X’ handle.
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What happened the last time RCB played Qualifier 1
Jitesh Sharma has led RCB in the last couple of games, with regular captain Rajat Patidar coming in as the Impact Player. It will be interesting to see whether Patidar, who is recovering from a finger injury on his right hand, returns to the starting XI and leads RCB on Thursday.
