Josh Hazlewood set the tone for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in their IPL 2025 opener with a clinical, suffocating spell that put Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on the back foot. Leading RCB’s pace attack, he struck in both the first and final overs, finishing with an impressive 2 for 22.

His wickets—Quinton de Kock and Harshit Rana—were crucial, but it was Hazlewood’s precision that truly made the difference. Bowling 16 dot balls and maintaining a miserly economy of 5.50, he stood out as the best fast bowler on the night. His success came from disciplined lengths, mixing it up with eight short balls, ten short-of-good-length deliveries, three on a good length, and just three full ones.

After the match, Hazlewood credited his strategy to the conditions; the pitch had been under covers for nearly two days, and his own strengths on such surfaces. His approach choked KKR early, restricting them to just 9 for 1 in the first three overs.

"It was more based on pitch and conditions," Hazlewood said in the post-match press conference in Kolkata. "The full ball probably wasn't gonna do as much unless you were searching for swing. I found that it was sort of sticking in the wicket a little and the bounce was quite good. I like bowling here at Eden Gardens. And yeah, we just sort of stuck to our lengths."

"I've bowled quite a lot to Quinton de Kock in all formats. He is a very dangerous player, so better to keep it simple and really tight. I know I went a little wide to him and he hit me for four. The plan was not trying to go too full or too short, really sticking to those hard lengths. If he makes something off that length for four or six, then that's just a good shot. So yeah, sticking to my strengths, definitely.

"When it comes to Narine, when the wicket has got some good bounce in it, that's helpful for the bowlers. He's very much a powerful powerplay batter, and he is always up to take on the bowling and score quickly. So to keep him quiet was very handy."

Despite explosive starts from Ajinkya Rahane and Sunil Narine, KKR fell short of expectations, managing only a below-par 174. Hazlewood highlighted the importance of constant communication among the bowlers, which helped RCB dismantle the middle order swiftly. He praised Krunal Pandya’s crucial three-wicket burst and Suyash Sharma’s dismissal of Andre Russell, both of which contributed to KKR’s struggles at the death, as they could muster only 23 runs in the last four overs.

"We would have had to bowl a little bit differently at the end if we didn't take those wickets through the middle," Hazlewood said. "But KP [Krunal] bowled beautifully through the middle. Luckily, I got to bowl to sort of the tail towards the end, but I think the hard lengths work best here most of the time.

"In our bowlers' meetings, there's typically someone in the room who has played a lot of cricket at those grounds. So [they] stand up in those moments and talk about their experiences on that ground and what works well for them. So it's very much a discussion among the bowling group with the coaches, with specific planning for the grounds."