Kolkata (West Bengal) [India]: Josh Hazlewood’s brilliant session that put Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on the defensive set the tone for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 opener. According to ESPNcricinfo, he led RCB’s pace assault and scored runs in the first and last overs, ending with a remarkable 2/22.

The main difference was Hazlewood’s command of line and length, which went beyond just collecting wickets by dismissing Harshit Rana late in the game and Quinton de Kock early. Delivering 16 dot balls at an economy of only 5.50, he was the night’s most impressive fast bowler. He was successful because he was a disciplined bowler who seldom pitched up and tended to keep to short and short-of-good-length deliveries.

Following the game, Hazlewood disclosed that the circumstances had an impact on his choice to favor shorter lengths. He knew there would be dampness since the pitch had been covered for over two days, which fit his style. His strategy made sure that KKR had a difficult start, scoring only nine runs in the opening three overs.

During the press conference after the game, Hazlewood said, “It was more based on pitch and conditions,” according to ESPNcricinfo.

“Unless you were trying to find swing, the whole ball probably wasn’t going to accomplish as much. The bounce was decent, and I saw that it was kind of sticking in the wicket a bit. Here at Eden Gardens, I like bowling. He went on, “And yeah, we just kind of stuck to our lengths.”

“I’ve bowled Quinton de Kock a lot in all forms. things is best to keep things tight and basic since he is a highly dangerous player. I am aware that he struck me for four when I went a little too wide. The goal was to adhere strictly to those challenging lengths without attempting to go either too full or too short. It’s simply a terrific shot if he hits anything off that length for four or six. Therefore, I will surely stick to my skills,” he stated.

“When it comes to Narine, the bowers benefit when the pitch has some excellent bounce. He is a potent powerplay hitter who is always willing to take on the bowlers and score runs fast. Therefore, it was quite helpful to keep him calm,” he said.

Sunil Narine and Ajinkya Rahane hit hard at the top, but KKR was unable to muster a respectable score, ending with 174. Hazlewood highlighted Suyash Sharma’s pivotal dismissal of Andre Russell and Krunal Pandya’s three-wicket burst as turning events and hailed RCB’s well-coordinated bowling effort for containing them. It was expensive for KKR to collapse in the penultimate overs, scoring just 23 runs in the last four.

According to ESPNcricinfo, Hazlewood said, “If we hadn’t taken those wickets through the middle, we would have had to bowl a little bit differently at the end.”

“Krunal, however, bowled exquisitely down the middle. I believe the hard lengths work best here most of the time, but I was fortunate to bowl to kind of the tail towards the finish,” he said.

Someone who has played a lot of cricket at such venues is usually present in our bowlers’ meetings. In certain situations, [they] take the stage and discuss their experiences there as well as what suits them. Therefore, there is a lot of conversation between the bowling group and the coaches, along with particular preparation for the grounds,” he said.

Hazlewood rejoined RCB this year as their most expensive auction choice, costing INR 12.50 crore (about USD 1.49 million), after missing the 2024 IPL season. He pointed out that even though RCB had lost four straight games versus KKR before to this match, the squad, which had six new players in the starting lineup, wasn’t burdened by previous performance. He also commended Virat Kohli and Phil Salt for their 95-run opening stand, which laid the groundwork for the RCB’s easy chase.

As cited by ESPNcricinfo, Hazlewood said, “It’s a positive influence – fresh people, fresh mindset, I think it’s big,”

“We provided around six caps before the game began, so I doubt anybody in the room would have been aware of the past four defeats to KKR that you brought up. It’s almost like a new beginning,” he said.

“The IPL is in a new cycle, but those new players—Salt among them—performed well. The opening partnership really put us up for success tonight. It was important to get us off to that start because, although it wasn’t a high score, it was still a respectable total,” he said.

Hazlewood reassured that bowling four T20 overs doesn’t put a lot of load on his body in response to questions on his fitness after suffering a calf issue. He anticipates becoming stronger as the competition goes on.

“I think I played the game very well. It’s just four overs, but I know the tension is over the sky. This is definitely the freshest I’ve felt in a long time, and I feel like I’ll simply keep getting better throughout the tournament. It was difficult, but I believe I am both physically and psychologically rejuvenated after putting in a lot of effort off the field to get here,” he remarked.