Follow UsIt seemed as though Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) winless streak at home would continue, but Josh Hazlewood and Yash Dayal held their nerves in the last two overs, with just 18 required to help their side edge past Rajasthan Royals (RR) on April 24 (Thursday).
Hazelwood especially returned at the death and gave away just seven runs and also picked up three more wickets after going for 26 in his first two. RCB head coach Andy Flower lauded Hazlewood, calling him a class operator.
"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," Flower said at the post-match press conference.
"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.
"I thought Bhuvi [Bhuvneshwar Kumar] has been superb this season, and Yash [Dayal] was outstanding again today. That last over, I thought he showed outstanding skill and composure under pressure to repeatedly bowl yorkers like that. So I think those three quicks have been great for us so far this season. We've got some more work to do, obviously, to help us in this last third of the league matches, and Hazlewood certainly leads from the front in that regard."
The spin duo of Krunal Pandya did exceptionally well for RCB, conceding just 62 runs from their eight overs combined. In fact, Krunal also picked up the key wickets of Nitish Rana and Riyan Parag to take his season's tally to 12 wickets.
"Well, Krunal was a very important pick for us in the auction. We were targeting him. We obviously liked his all-round capabilities but also his experience," Flower said.
"He's experienced winning the IPL, he's experienced captaining in the IPL, he's played international cricket, he's got a good cricket head on his shoulders, and he's also got a bit of fire in his belly, and I really like that.
"Obviously both brothers do [referring to Hardik Pandya]. So he was an important pick for us in the auction. I think he's done some really good work with Malo [Malolan Rangarajan], who I think is an excellent spin bowling coach, an excellent all-round coach, really. And I think they've had some really good conversations about some of the tactics Krunal's employing.
"I thought Rajat did a great job of staying calm. The ball spun all match, even when the ball was getting a little bit wet, it was still holding a little. So we knew that if we used our eight overs of spin, we could create a few chances with that and perhaps drive that run rate in the right direction for us."
Defending a total at the Chinnaswamy Stadium is never easy. Moreover, RCB have lost the toss here in all their four matches, which has made their task a tad tougher. However, with the race for the playoffs heating up, Flower believes this win against RR was not just about breaking the home jinx, but also showing that this team can adapt to any condition.
"We've had four home games here, we've lost the toss each time. We know that trying to defend a target here is tough, and I think in the first three games, I thought our bowlers and fielding unit did outstanding work to keep us in the game as long as they did, because all three totals were a bit below par. So watching our guys adapt to the conditions today was really gratifying," Flower said.
"I was really proud of the way that they batted. Devdutt Padikkal was sensational to score 50 off 27 balls like that without ever slogging. I thought that was a genuinely outstanding innings. We say a lot about Virat, but his 70 off 42 balls and that partnership with Dev really gave us a platform on a pitch that wasn't that easy. I thought that was an above-par total, to be honest. So that class of batting and thinking that went into it from those guys I thought was genuinely outstanding.
"So yeah, really important to get that win. Obviously, our amazing supporters wanted to see some of that success. They were concerned about us here at home.
"We've got three more games here at home, that's so vitally important for us to play well in these conditions. And it was great to put on a show and for the spectators to have such a great game of cricket to watch. We were struggling at the end there when they needed 18 of 12 balls and the composure that the bowlers showed out there and also that Rajat Patidar showed out there, I'm really proud of the way they held themselves under pressure."
With this win, RCB now have 12 points in nine matches and are currently in third place on the IPL 2025 points table.