Following his match-winning four-wicket haul against Delhi Capitals (DC) in a low-scoring encounter, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) pacer Josh Hazlewood said that the team was not sure what to expect after a 500-plus runfest between the Capitals and Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Saturday and lauded spinners for putting the pressure on opposition with their dot balls.After a run-fest of 529 runs between DC and PBKS which saw 265 being chased down by Punjab despite a record-breaking 152* from KL Rahul, it was exactly the opposite two days later as DC batters struggled to put the bat on ball, nicking it to the fielder/keeper or getting overwhelmed by the bounce. Hazlewood, along with Bhuvneshwar, reduced DC to 8/6 in the powerplay, but the hosts anyways made 75 runs, which was not enough.
Spinners also carried on the momentum provided by pacers, with Suyash Sharma (1/7 in four overs) and Krunal Pandya (1/9 in two overs) giving just 16 runs in six overs and getting two wickets of Kyle Jamieson and Kuldeep Yadav.
Speaking during the post-match proceedings, Hazlewood said, “Probably turning up here after 500-plus runs in the last game, was not sure what was going to happen. Was just following his (Bhuvneshwar) lead. There was a bit there in the first six overs – enough there to work with, and it was skidding on quickly from a short of a length. Once the ball got soft, it got more even.”
He said that bowling the short ball on such a surface was also nice and it was all about accuracy.
“When that ball was nice and hard, it was tough to bat. Would have been nice to bowl four and get off the field (laughs). Our spinners got into the game, dotted it up nicely,” he added.
On the last season, where RCB won all their away games, Hazlewood said that the team has picked up from where they started and are peaking at the right time.
“We have picked up from where we left off last season. We summed up conditions quickly and adapted our games (on the road in 2025). Feel like we are hitting our straps again at the right time,” he signed off.
So far this season, Hazlewood has taken eight wickets in five games at an average of 19.25 and an economy rate of 7.89.
With this win, RCB have registered their sixth win in eight matches, with 12 points to their name. RCB are at number two in the points tally. This fifth defeat for DC, who have won three, keeps them at seventh spot in the points table.
RCB opted to field first, and excellent spells from Hazlewood (4/12) and Bhuvneshwar (3/5) reduced DC to 75 in 16.3 overs, with Abishek Porel (30) and David Miller (19) offering some resistance. RCB batters came out all guns blazing as Jacob Bethell (20 in 10 balls, with a four and two sixes), Devdutt Padikkal (34* in 13 balls, with three fours and three sixes), and Virat Kohli (25* in 13 balls, with a four and two sixes) sealed the chase in 6.3 overs.
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