"If RCB have to lift the trophy, they have to finish in the top 2" - Aakash Chopra on Royal Challengers Bengaluru ahead of IPL 2025 clash vs CSK

Former India player Aakash Chopra has noted that the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will virtually qualify for the IPL 2025 playoffs if they beat the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). However, he opined that Rajat Patidar and company would need to finish in the top two after the league phase to have a realistic chance of bagging their maiden title.

RCB will host CSK in Match 52 of IPL 2025 in Bengaluru on Saturday, May 3. With 14 points from 10 games, the three-time runners-up are placed third on the points table, and a win in Saturday's game will help them regain the top spot.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra', the former India opener observed that the Royal Challengers Bengaluru are on the verge of qualifying for the playoffs, but added that they would want to book a berth in Qualifier 1.

"RCB had never won in Chennai since 2008, but they did that job. It's even-stevens at home. It's not that Chennai come here and beat them every time. However, considering where RCB are standing currently, they can very well qualify tonight. The 'Q' won't be written against their name, but they will reach 16 points if they win this match, with three more games in hand," Chopra said (5:35).

"The qualification won't be confirmed as five teams can finish on 18 points. However, it has never happened that a team with 16 points hasn't qualified in a 14-match IPL. Only once, which was in 2016, has a team finishing outside the top two lifted the trophy. So if RCB have to lift the trophy, they have to finish in the top two," he added.

The SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) finished third after the league phase in IPL 2016. They beat the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Eliminator, the Gujarat Lions (GL) in Qualifier 2, and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the final to lift the trophy that season.

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"Runs from Rajat Patidar" - Aakash Chopra on RCB's improvement area in IPL 2025 clash vs CSK

Rajat Patidar has a top score of 25 in his last five innings in IPL 2025. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra picked runs from Rajat Patidar's willow as an improvement area for RCB.

"A lot of things are fine. Where is the scope for improvement? I feel runs from Rajat Patidar. He has captained well. He rotates his bowlers very well, but no one talks about him. Rajat Patidar hasn't been spoken about as much as he should be. We have been singing praises for Axar Patel and Shreyas Iyer because they are more in focus," he said (8:00) in the same video.

While observing that Patidar's captaincy hasn't been appreciated enough, the cricketer-turned-commentator added that the middle-order batter hasn't been at his best in his last few innings.

"There isn't as much focus on Rajat Patidar. The camera also focuses limitedly on him. That is the unfortunate fact. In my opinion, he is captaining very well, but how will he bat? He had scored 160 runs in the first four matches, but after that, he has gone off the boil a little. I am really hopeful that he scores runs," Chopra elaborated.

Rajat Patidar has aggregated 228 runs at an average of 25.33 in nine innings in IPL 2025. He has managed only 67 runs at an average of 13.40 in his last five innings.