Royal Challengers Bengaluru picked up their first win at home on Thursday, defeating the Rajasthan Royals by 11 runs in an incredibly close contest at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Josh Hazlewood (4-33) put up a masterclass in death-overs bowling to help RCB defend their first innings score, though it was anything but comfortable for the hosts.

RCB's batters put up an improved batting performance compared to their previous three home outings, setting a competitive target of 205 runs.

Phil Salt (26) lacked his usual fluency, though he and Virat Kohli (70) powered RCB through a healthy powerplay.

But it was Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal (50 off 27 balls) who put RCB in the driver's seat with a brilliant 95-run stand through the middle.

Kohli spooned a soft catch to cover in the 16th over, and Padikkal followed suit an over later, but a tidy little flourish at the back end from Tim David (23) and Jitesh Sharma (20 not out) gave RCB the good score of 205-5.

Rajasthan, who went into Thursday's clash on the back of four straight losses, got off to a dream start in their chase, courtesy of Yashasvi Jaiswal (49 off 19) and Vaibhav Suryavanshi (16), whose impactful knocks powered them to 72-2 in the powerplay.

Hazlewood had Jaiswal caught at midwicket just before the powerplay ended, though Nitish Rana (28) and Riyan Parag (22) kept the scoring rate up through the middle.

However, Krunal Pandya (2-31) took both in quick succession, tilting the game in RCB's favour after Rajasthan had threatened to run away with it.

Dhruv Jurel (47) laboured at first but eventually connected a few big hits along with Shubham Dubey (12), the duo plundering Bhuvneshwar Kumar for 22 runs off the 18th over.

Despite being in pole position to win, the visitors fumbled yet another chase after having done so similarly against Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants earlier this season.

Hazlewood's clinic finally put an end to Rajasthan's hopes as the Australian spearhead picked up two wickets in the 19th over to close out the win.

RCB move up to third with 12 points, while Rajasthan remain in eighth, their playoff hopes all but gone now.

There’s the much awaited home win! 

Firsts are always special and this one… was truly worth the wait! #PlayBold #ನಮ್ಮRCB #IPL2025 #RCBvRR pic.twitter.com/P7QR3h3FHf

— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) April 24, 2025

Data debrief: RCB bring the batting party home

After plenty of stellar batting performances on the road, RCB finally replicated their good form at home.

The hosts put up a formidable total – their highest at home this season – and their highest-ever against Rajasthan. The last time RCB managed to breach 200 while facing Rajasthan was in a rain-affected match at the Chinnaswamy in 2015.

Kohli and Padikkal's partnership was key to RCB’s total, with the duo now the second-highest scoring partnership in this season's IPL, accumulating 429 runs.

They trail only Gujarat Titans’ Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan, who have amassed 448 runs. Interestingly, Kohli and Salt are not far behind in that list, having managed 376 runs between them as well.