Hazlewood eyes the dots as RCB reach unforgiving Chinnaswamy

Watching Josh Hazlewood train is like getting a lesson in simplicity. His sessions are short and sharp, focused on rhythm and precision - testing his full range while delivering a metronomic stream of balls.

Four games in, these virtues have made Hazlewood one of the standout bowlers for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), whose absence they felt a great deal last year. A key performer in IPL 2022, with 20 wickets in RCB's run to Qualifier 2 - their best finish since 2016 - injuries disrupted Hazlewood's IPL 2023 campaign. RCB had planned to retain Hazlewood, if he was fit, for IPL 2024, but he opted out owing to the impending birth of his child. This meant having to rejig their bowling plans.

Mohammed Siraj lacked impact, Yash Dayal was still settling in, Akash Deep and Reece Topley featured irregularly, and Lockie Ferguson proved expensive - all contributing to RCB ending with the joint-lowest powerplay wickets for pace bowlers.

Cut to IPL 2025, and Hazlewood's return has been a game-changer. Signed for INR 12.5 crore, he has helped RCB record a powerplay bowling average of 26.28, behind only Gujarat Titans (GT) and Delhi Capitals (DC).

Along the way, Hazlewood has fed off Bhuvneshwar Kumar's experience too. The pair has formed a potent opening combination, troubling batters with unerring accuracy and subtle movement.

What makes Hazlewood so difficult to face is his high release point, which generates extra bounce regardless of the length he bowls. In each of RCB's three wins, Hazlewood has had a profound impact in the powerplay. And much of his success has been down to how quickly he has adapted to the conditions. On surfaces where there have been bounce and carry, like at Eden Gardens and Chepauk, his hit-the-deck mastery has been unchallenged. His dot-ball percentage of 72.92 is the highest in the powerplay among those who have bowled multiple overs in that phase this season.

Against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the opening game, he troubled Quinton de Kock with rising deliveries before having him top edge the pick-up shot that reared up a tad more than de Kock expected. Against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), his twin strikes of Rahul Tripathi and Ruturaj Gaikwad in the space of five deliveries, along with nine dots, laid the foundation for RCB being able to break a 17-year jinx at the venue.

Against Mumbai Indians (MI) on Monday night, Hazlewood followed an early wicket of Ryan Rickelton with a succession of six dot balls to Suryakumar Yadav to help build powerplay pressure in a big chase. On surfaces where there is springy bounce, like at Wankhede, this can be a double-edged sword, like he found out later in the game when Hardik Pandya sent the ball into different pockets of the ground in the death overs.

Hazlewood conceded 22 runs in that 14th over, but he responded by using the crease and angles to cramp Hardik for room and dismissing him off the first ball of his final over, the 19th, that went for just nine to land the knockout blow on MI.

Hazlewood's biggest challenge is yet to come. He has only played one game at home, in conditions where even the best fast bowlers have travelled. During his best season with RCB, in 2022, he didn't play at home since the tournament was held entirely in Mumbai because of post-Covid restrictions. But the Chinnaswamy deck hasn't been the usual, where batters have tended to enjoy a free-for-all buffet like last year.

Hazlewood delivered an excellent first spell against GT in RCB's first home game - conceding just one boundary off his first nine deliveries before Sai Sudharsan threw him off his lengths by bringing out the ramp shot, instead of trying to take him on in front of square.

Jos Buttler then made it an unending nightmare by treating him with disdain, reverse-ramping him for six and setting himself up to wallop a length ball over deep midwicket. By the time Sherfane Rutherford flicked him to the leg-side boundary to seal victory, Hazlewood had run out of gas.

It was an expensive spell for Hazlewood - 3.5-0-43-1 - but it was also one that he'll take back plenty from. On Thursday, he'll return to the Chinnaswamy Stadium against DC, fueled by confidence and adrenaline from a strong start to the season, hoping to help RCB seize momentum at home, just as he has done on the road.