IPL 2022: Royal Challengers Bangalore's remarkably simple weapon in Josh Hazlewood
Josh Hazlewood's recent form has seen him standout among the IPL's best fast bowlers. He is helped his team Royal Challengers' Bangalore (RCB) to the second place on the points table.
In his every match this season, Hazlewood has dominated batters in two phases of the innings: the powerplay and the death overs.
But what is his point of difference? A basic, metronomic, consistent attack at the top of the off-stump, and at times the bat.
He sends down irritating deliveries that hit the top of the bat time and time again across his spells. This is remarkable as he is finding success in the game's shortest format with a traditional red-ball approach.
wickets in 
matches in #IPL2022. 
8️⃣ wickets in 3️⃣ matches in #IPL2022. 🔥
The ever-reliable, Josh Hazlewood. 🤩
#PlayBold #WeAreChallengers #Mission2022 #RCB #ನಮ್ಮRCB https://t.co/v1cAzLR7wn
/
(4) last night, Josh Hazlewood is deservedly the @Kreditbee Kredible Player of the Match for #LSGvRCB. 
🏻For his game-changing spell of 4️⃣/2️⃣5️⃣(4) last night, Josh Hazlewood is deservedly the @Kreditbee Kredible Player of the Match for #LSGvRCB. 👏🏻👏🏻
#PlayBold #WeAreChallengers #IPL2022 #Mission2022 #RCB #ನಮ್ಮRCB https://t.co/GdJLIJRg0l
Fellow Australian fast bowler Ben Cutting explored Hazelwood's ability to transfer his red-ball expertise and workhorse persona to both the T20I and IPL arena.
"He kept it very, very simple. He bowled to the big boundary which was clearly one side of the wicket... hang it out there on the wide line. He bowled his leg-cutter as a change of pace. He went to his yorker and change of length. That's it. There's no mystery balls, no funky fields. (It's) very straightforward and very simple and he executed perfectly."
As a case in point, Josh Hazlewood's masterstrokes were on display as he dismissed Quinton de Kock in the game against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).
De Kock knicked a sharp delivery bowled by Hazlewood that was banged into a short length and rose sharply.
But where Hazlewood catches batters out is through a package (or just a pair) of deliveries. The previous ball in that match was exactly the same, yet angled away, and the batters trotted through for a single.
That style has yielded success by way of statistics for the Australian, who now houses a tally of eight wickets from just three games this season. He is currently the 11th highest wicket-taker in the competition with half as many games as some of those above him.
His figures of 4/25 against LSG were the fifth-best this season, and the fifth-best by an overseas player in the history of IPL.
An incredible strike rate of 9.0 and a bowling average of 10.75 are both listed as the third-best in the competition.
Josh Hazlewood, yesterday, registered the fifth-best bowling figures by an overseas bowler for RCB in the IPL 🙌
#IPL2022 #RCB #LSG #LSGvRCB https://t.co/3kmuMX2vJI
Josh Hazlewood's building blocks in 2021
It's not only this year's IPL where Josh Hazlewood has thrived. But facts and figures such as these have been imminent, especially off the back of two critical T20 performances in 2021.
In November 2021, he took 3/16 in the T20 World Cup final from four overs (economy rate of just four). The tall seamer took the key wickets of Kane Williamson, Glenn Phillips, and Daryl Mitchell, which limited New Zealand's first innings total.
One month prior, his 2/29 helped the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to the 2021 IPL title.
The two finals performances headlined why Royal Challengers Bangalore's eyes pricked up for Hazlewood and they eventually opted to recruit him.
His unique bowling style ultimately found for him a place in the T20 format, earning him a price of $1,441,000 (AUD) at the last auction.
Likened to Glenn McGrath early in his career, Hazlewood has found a way to implement a solid bowling technique, based on consistent line and length, into the shortest format.
A phenomenon that is sure to please many rusted-on Test cricket fans who are yet to tap into the T20 world.