RCB will next face DC in Delhi on April 27.
RCB coach Andy Flower has showered rich praise on Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood as he starred with the ball in the team’s recent IPL 2025 win over Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Bengaluru. With this win, RCB also recorded its first victory at home.
Hazlewood, whose first two overs had gone for 26, ended up with Player of the Match-winning figures of 4 for 33. He bowled extremely well at the death, especially after Bhuvneshwar Kumar conceded 22 runs in the 18th over. Needing 18 runs in the next 2 overs, RR had their hopes up, but Hazlewood poured water on those.
He dismissed set batters Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel to end RR’s hopes as they managed 195/9 and lost the match by 12 runs.
"I would probably refer to both of his last overs because his two overs went for seven, and he took three wickets in them. So I think both those overs showed the class of the guy. He's a class operator, a world-class bowler, great under pressure in any format of the game, thinks clearly, and has great skill," Flower said after the defeat of the Rajasthan Royals.
"I know he's known for his heavy-length bowling, but he's got some great all-round skills. He mixes in those yorkers, wide yorkers, and slower balls, and he seems to know what type of ball to bowl at the right time. It's great having a guy like him on our side, part of a very strong three-pronged [pace] attack.
I thought Bhuvi [Bhuvneshwar Kumar] has been superb this season, and Yash [Dayal] was outstanding again today. That last over, I thought he showed outstanding skill and composure under pressure to repeatedly bowl yorkers like that. So I think those three quicks have been great for us so far this season. We've got some more work to do, obviously, to help us in this last third of the league matches, and Hazlewood certainly leads from the front in that regard,” Flower added.
During the middle overs, Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma played a huge role in containing RR batters. Krunal also picked up the key wickets of Riyan Parag and Nitish Rana, taking his season tally to 12 from nine games.
"Well, Krunal was a very important pick for us in the auction. We were targeting him. We obviously liked his all-around capabilities, but also his experience. He's experienced winning the IPL, he's experienced captaining in the IPL, he's played international cricket, he's got a good cricket head on his shoulders, and he's also got a bit of fire in his belly—and I really like that.
Obviously, both brothers do [referring to Hardik Pandya]. So he was an important pick for us in the auction. I think he's done some really good work with Malo [Malolan Rangarajan], who I think is an excellent spin bowling coach, an excellent all-round coach, really. And I think they've had some really good conversations about some of the tactics Krunal's employing.
I thought Rajat did a great job of staying calm. The ball spun all match, and even when the ball was getting a little bit wet, it was still holding up a little. So we knew that if we used our eight overs of spin, we could create a few chances with that and perhaps drive that run rate in the right direction for us," Flower added.
RCB will next be in action when they travel to Delhi to face DC on April 27.
(PTI inputs)