Josh Hazlewood took only one wicket against Lucknow Super Giants as Royal Challengers Bengaluru thwarted the visitors at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Match 23 of IPL 2026. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (3-27), Rasikh Salam (4-24) and Krunal Pandya (2-38) were also among the wickets, but it was Hazlewood’s controlled bowling that won him the Player of the Match accolade on Wednesday, April 15.
Hazlewood has reflected on the wicket in Bengaluru and how winning the toss and opting to bowl first helped RCB have an added home advantage against LSG. After a brilliant bowling effort that restricted Lucknow to 146 in the first innings, RCB’s batters were smart enough to chase the target through a winning mindset, according to the fast bowler.
“We probably struggled a little bit in the first half of last year in home games. So, it’s nice to win the toss and have a bowl first. It’s a slightly different wicket than what we’re used to, a little slower, probably a bit up and down. So, it’s quite tough for batting. I thought the way we chased the total down was very good to watch. All our batters are in good form and confident, and to chase the score down pretty quickly on a wicket like that is huge,” Hazlewood told JioStar.
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Hazlewood compared himself with the likes of ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah, saying that he does not have as many variations as his Mumbai Indians counterpart, but he keeps working on his line and lengths and makes minor adjustments to ensure accuracy, which eventually earns him breakthroughs.
“You don’t have to try too much. It’s very simple in planning, but it’s just about execution, and putting the ball in the right areas. Bhuvi summed up the conditions in that first over, and then there were a few field changes here and there. The communication within the bowling group, in particular, especially from Bhuvi, who bowls first up, is a real strength of ours. It’s probably why we did so well in our away games last year,” he added.
I don’t have the skills of someone like Bumrah or others with slower balls, so you’ve got to make it up on the run. I keep working on a few different things in training all the time and hopefully bring them in when we need them. In this game, it was more about being accurate, hitting the right length, even using a few cross-seam deliveries and just keeping it simple,” the experienced pacer concluded.
After an inspiring performance by RCB, they are now comfortably seated at the top of the IPL 2026 points table with eight points after five matches. Their only loss came against Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati. They will be seen facing the Delhi Capitals and will be looking to maintain their dominant run on Saturday, April 18.
