Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) fast bowler Josh Hazlewood believes the team has been “a bit slow” in adapting to conditions at home, where they’ve lost all three matches so far this IPL season. Despite his personal form improving, Hazlewood admitted RCB is still figuring out how to fully capitalise on home advantage.
Having returned from calf and side injuries ahead of IPL 2025, Hazlewood said he’s feeling more confident with each outing. “I’ve just felt better as the tournament has gone on,” he said after RCB’s narrow five-wicket defeat to Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Bengaluru. “My run-up, rhythm – it’s all been good. I’m still putting in work on the rehab side, but everything feels great.”
Hazlewood delivered his best performance of the season on Friday night, taking 3 for 14 in a three-over spell that briefly gave RCB hope as they defended a modest total of 95 in a rain-shortened 14-over match. He now sits joint-second on the Purple Cap leaderboard with 12 wickets at an economy rate of 8.14.
In his second stint with RCB, Hazlewood has forged a strong new-ball partnership with veteran seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar. “Bowling with Bhuvi, who’s been around for so long and is so skilled both upfront and at the death, has been a great learning experience,” he said. “And with Yash Dayal, we all bring something different.”
Reflecting on RCB’s underwhelming home performances, Hazlewood said the team hadn’t applied lessons from previous games effectively. “We probably didn’t put learnings from the first two games into practice as well as we could have. Especially in those first six to eight overs, we didn’t adapt quickly enough.”
RCB had posted 163 and 169 in earlier home games against Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals but failed to defend either total. In the latest match, they managed just 95, which PBKS chased down with 11 balls remaining. Hazlewood remains optimistic, saying, “The bowling improved in the last couple of outings – we’re getting there, just not fast enough.”
He also commented on the unexpected nature of the Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch, which hasn’t been as high-scoring as in past seasons. “The bounce is still there, but maybe not as consistent. We’ve found that hitting the six-to-eight metre length hard makes batting difficult,” he explained. “It might be a case of giving yourself more time and pulling back a bit early in the innings.”
Hazlewood stressed the importance of top-order contributions. “In the first two games here, a batter from the opposition went big and finished the job. If our top five or six can bat the full 20 overs, that would give us a real chance.”
