Courtesy: BCCI/IPL
The match 42nd of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 was a high-scoring thriller which went the way of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) as they defeated Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 11 runs. For his outstanding spell of 4/33 in his quota of four overs, Josh Hazlewood was adjudicated as the player of the match (POTM), and in post-match press conference, RCB head coach Andy Flower hailed him for his tremendous comeback in the contest after being hit early on.
Notably, while defending the 205-run total, Josh Hazlewood bowled three dot balls to start his spell against Yashasvi Jaiswal before the Indian left-hander smashed him for five fours and one six in the next seven balls. Such an exceptional onslaught could have made most bowlers struggle throughout the match but Hazlewood was in no mood to let that happen to him as he picked up the wicket of Jaiswal at a key stage for RCB, dismissing him on 49 off just 19 balls.
After conceding 26 runs in his first two overs with a wicket under his belt, Josh Hazlewood was reintroduced back into the attack in the death overs, and it paid dividends as he got the better of Shimron Hetymer, who could be quite dangerous in a run chase. With just 17 runs to defend in the last two overs, RCB captain Rajat Patidar turned to his premier fast bowler, who didn’t disappoint as he picked up the vital wicket of set batter Dhruv Jurel, and conceded just one run in the over.
He's a class operator, a world-class bowler, great under pressure in any format of the game: Andy Flower on Josh Hazlewood
Following that, Yash Dayal got the wicket of Shubham Dubey, the last recognised batter of RR, to seal the first home win of the IPL 2025 for RCB at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. In the post-match press conference, Andy Flower was quoted as saying, as per Cricbuzz, “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.”
“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, 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 in our side, part of a very strong three-pronged [pace] attack,” the RCB head coach added.
