IPL 2025: Josh Hazlewood, death-overs magician

BENGALURU: It was fourth time lucky for Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium this sea -son. Except it wasn’t only about luck. First, the home team batters applied themselves far better than in previous three matches at the venue. And then, Josh Hazlewood (4/33 off his four overs) returned to deliver a fiery second spell that pretty much ended Rajasthan Royals’ challenge. In the three previous matches at home, the Rajat Patidar-led side failed to crack the code. On Thursday though, in-form trio of Phil Salt (26), Virat Kohli (70) and Devdutt Padikkal (50) scored 146 runs be -tween them to ensure the team surpassed the 200-mark — a par score on a ground that has often been described as a batting paradise. However, Rajasthan’s youngsters gave the home team a fright, keeping their side in contention until the 17th over of the chase. Needing 40 off the last three overs, Dhruv Jurel and Shubham Dubey, milked 22 runs from the 18th over sent down by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, reducing the equation to just 18 from the final 12 balls. It was then that Hazlewood decided to work his magic. The Australian pace merchant had conceded just six in the 17th over and picked up the key wicket of Shimron Hetmeyer. In the penultimate over, he conceded a solitary run while pick -ing up two wickets to fashion RCB’s first home win of the season. “Hazlewood’s last two overs went for seven runs, and he took three wickets in them,” said Andy Flower, RCB head coach, running out of adjectives while praising the Aussie bowler. “Both those overs showed the class of the guy. He’s a world-class bowler, great under pressure in any format of the game. He thinks clearly and has great skill.” Highlighting the variety Hazlewood manages, Flower said, “I know he’s known for his heavy-length bowling, but he’s got some great all-round skills. He mixes in yorkers, wide yorkers, slower balls. He seems to know what type of ball to bowl at the right time. It’s great having a guy like him in our side. He’s part of a very strong threepronged (pace) attack.” Hazlewood made his IPL debut only in 2020. The 34-year-old missed out on previous seasons due to injuries and his decision to prioritise country over franchise cricket. Flower emphasised that the pace trio of Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar and Yash Dayal have formed the fulcrum of this season’s campaign, in which they have six wins from nine games. “I thought Bhuvi has been superb this season, and Yash was outstand -ing again today,” said Flower. “That last over, I thought he showed out -standing skill and composure under pressure to repeatedly bowl yorkers like that. I think the three quicks have been great for us so far.”