IPL 2025: RCB head coach Andy Flower, all praise for Hazlewood

Royal Challengers Bengaluru head coach Andy Flower said Josh Hazlewood, the lead performer in RCB’s win against Rajasthan Royals, had all-round skills, mixed yorkers, wide yorkers and slower balls and knew that type of ball to bowl at the right time

Hyderabad: Royal Challengers Bengaluru head coach Andy Flower said Josh Hazlewood, the lead performer in RCB’s win against Rajasthan Royals in the IPL league match on Thursday night in Bengaluru, had all-round skills, mixed yorkers, wide yorkers and slower balls and knew that type of ball to bowl at the right time.

“So it’s great having a guy like Hazlewood on our side, in our squad, and part of a very strong three-pronged attack. I thought Bhuvi’s 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,” Flower said in the post-match briefing.

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“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 (2:46) to the conditions today was really gratifying,” he said.

“I was really proud of the way that they batted. Dev Padikkal was sensational to score 50 off 27 balls like that (3:03) without ever slogging. I thought that was a genuinely outstanding innings,” Flower said. “We say a lot about Virat, but his 70 or 42 balls and that partnership with Dev really gave us a platform on a pitch that wasn’t that easy, I didn’t think,” he said.

“I thought Captain Rajat did a great job of staying calm and also I think to halt the momentum you were talking about, we needed a little bit of death bowling in the middle overs,” the RCB head coach said.

“We’ve got some great experience in the team, both in the overseas players and in the Indian contingent. And, we’ve got some intelligent cricketers, so the conversations that the players were having amongst themselves, but also with DK, who not only knows this ground very well but knows IPL cricket in great depth,” Flower explained.