With just two games left in the competition, which has already reached its business end, David Warner, the captain of the 2016 IPL championship team, made a daring forecast for the winner of the current season. Before Warner, Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist had made their names in the annals; he is one of the three foreign players who has ever led an IPL team to victory. He anticipates that a new IPL champion will be crowned on June 3 and that Josh Hazlewood will be instrumental in helping the Royal Challengers Bengaluru end their title drought.

Reaching the IPL 2025 final first after defeating Punjab Kings in the qualifier 1 decisively has already established RCB as the frontrunner to win the championship.

When RCB last made it to the IPL final in 2016, it was Warner who prevented them from winning their first championship as Sunrisers Hyderabad won at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad. Virat Kohli and his teammates battled hard with the bat but fell eight runs short in the end as Warner set the tone for a large total - 208/7 - with a scorching 69 off 38 balls.

Nonetheless, Warner predicts that RCB will finally win the title this year, with Hazlewood, not Virat Kohli, as their star player.

“David, who do you think will win the Tata IPL 2025?” Warner was asked by a fan on X. @davidwarner31

"I believe Josh hazelwood man of the match for RCB," the seasoned Australian opener responded.

RCB reach IPL final after 9 years

On their way to Qualifier 1, RCB made history by becoming the first team in IPL history to win every away game in a single league stage. Despite the accolades for Rajat Patidar's leadership, Virat Kohli has once again served as the foundation of their campaign, scoring more than 600 runs, including an astounding eight fifties, which is the most by any batter this year. Amazingly, RCB won every time Kohli reached a fifty in pursuit. Kohli has also surpassed 600 runs in a season for the fifth time, which is the most any IPL player has ever achieved.

Josh Hazlewood has also been a crucial factor in RCB's consistent performance this season. Due to a shoulder niggle, the Australian player missed the final few league stage games. Nonetheless, he made it back in time for the first qualifier against the Punjab Kings, where he bowled a game-winning spell of 3/21 in 3.1 overs.

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