Josh Hazlewood set the tone for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in their IPL 2025 season opener, delivering a suffocating spell that stifled Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Leading RCB’s pace attack, he struck in the first and final overs, finishing with figures of 2 for 22.
Beyond his wickets – removing Quinton de Kock and Harshit Rana – Hazlewood’s precision made the difference. He bowled 16 dot balls, maintained an economy of 5.50 and emerged as the standout fast bowler on Saturday. His success stemmed from disciplined lengths: eight short balls, ten short-of-good-length, three good-length balls, and just three full deliveries.
After the match, Hazlewood said that his decision to stay on the shorter side was influenced by the conditions – the pitch was under covers for nearly two days – and his own strengths on such surfaces. His approach kept KKR to 9 for 1 in the first three overs.
“It was more based on pitch and conditions,” Hazlewood said in the post-match press conference in Kolkata. “The full ball probably wasn’t gonna do as much unless you were searching for swing. I found that it was sort of sticking in the wicket a little and the bounce was quite good. I like bowling here at Eden Gardens. And yeah, we just sort of stuck to our lengths.”
“I’ve bowled quite a lot to Quinton de Kock in all formats. He is a very dangerous player, so better to keep it simple and really tight. I know I went a little wide to him and he hit me for four. The plan was not trying to go too full or too short, really sticking to those hard lengths. If he makes something off that length for four or six, then that’s just a good shot. So yeah, sticking to my strengths, definitely.
“When it comes to Narine, when the wicket has got some good bounce in it, that’s helpful for the bowers. He’s very much a powerful powerplay batter, and he is always up to take on the bowling and score quickly. So to keep him quiet was very handy.”
Despite the fireworks from Ajinkya Rahane and Sunil Narine at the top, KKR managed only a below-par 174. Hazlewood emphasised that constant communication among the bowlers was crucial in taking out the middle order in quick succession. He credited Krunal Pandya‘s three-wicket burst and Suyash Sharma‘s dismissal of Andre Russell for KKR’s faltering finish, as they scraped together just 23 runs in the final four overs.
“We would have had to bowl a little bit differently at the end if we didn’t take those wickets through the middle,” Hazlewood said. “But KP [Krunal] bowled beautifully through the middle. Luckily, I got to bowl to sort of the tail towards the end, but I think the hard lengths work best here most of the time.
“In our bowlers’ meetings, there’s typically someone in the room who has played a lot of cricket at those grounds. So [they] stand up in those moments and talk about their experiences on that ground and what works well for them. So it’s very much a discussion among the bowling group with the coaches, with specific planning for the grounds.”
Hazlewood, who was part of RCB in 2022 and 2023 before missing the 2024 season, returned this year as their most expensive auction pick at INR 12.50 crore (USD 1.49 million approx.). He said most players in the squad carried no baggage from past encounters with KKR. Despite RCB entering the match on a four-game losing streak against KKR, their team, featuring six new faces in the XI, never dwelled on it. Hazlewood also credited the dominant 95-run opening stand between Phil Salt and Virat Kohli for setting up the comfortable win.
“It’s a positive influence – fresh people, fresh mindset, I think it’s big,” Hazlewood said. “You mention the last four losses to KKR but I don’t think anyone in the room would have known that because we gave about six caps before the game started. That’s like a fresh start almost.
“It’s a new cycle in the IPL, but those fresh players – Salt being one of those – played outstandingly. Tonight, the opening partnership really set up the chase for us. It was not a huge score, but still a decent total, so to get us off to that start was crucial.”
He also said bowling four T20 overs does not strain his body even though he is making a comeback from a calf injury. He expects to become stronger as the season progresses.
“I feel like I got through the game very well. I know the intensity is through the roof, but it’s only four overs. I feel I’ll just keep building throughout the tournament and this is probably the freshest I’ve been in a long time. I’ve done a lot of work off the field to get back to this point, which was tough, but I think I am mentally and physically refreshed.”
Sreshth Shah is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo. @sreshthx
