Ahead of the 2026 Indian Premier League season, the single biggest concern for Royal Challengers Bengaluru was its bowling.

Josh Hazlewood, the 22-wicket star of the title-winning run in 2025, hadn’t played in over four months because of hamstring and Achilles injuries. Yash Dayal, who totalled 28 wickets across two seasons, was unavailable for off-the-field reasons.

Five games into the ongoing campaign, it appears that RCB has very few holes in its bowling attack.

But for Rajasthan Royals’ Vaibhav Suryavanshi-inspired onslaught, the defending champion has bowled out Chennai Super Kings, taken nine of Sunrisers Hyderabad’s wickets – courtesy Jacob Duffy’s three of 22 – and kept a fearsome Mumbai Indians line-up under control.

On Wednesday at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium came its most authoritative effort yet, as it dismissed Lucknow Super Giants for 146. Hazlewood, in a Player-of-the-Match performance, bowled four superb overs for just 20 runs, took the prized scalp of Nicholas Pooran and left Rishabh Pant with a damaged left elbow.

“He [Hazlewood] is looking sharper [than last year],” said RCB vice-captain Jitesh Sharma. “He is well rested, has become quicker and fitter, and is very confident about his body now.”

ALSO READ | From MRF Pace Foundation to IPL spotlight—Charting Praful Hinge and Sakib Hussain’s meteoric rise

The ideal foil for Hazlewood was fellow pacer Rasikh Salam, who impressed for a second straight match (4/24) and has surely overtaken Abhinandan Singh, and the much-hyped Mangesh Yadav, in the competition for a starter’s role.

“He had the skills, but now he has learnt how to use them,” Jitesh said about Rasikh, who is also his teammate at Baroda.

“In domestic cricket, he worked a lot on his yorkers and slower ones. And with practice, it becomes part of your muscle memory and comes out naturally in high-pressure situations.”

Published on Apr 16, 2026