Comeback man Josh Hazlewood sends Shreyas Iyer packing for 2 as batter attempts ugly slog in PBKS vs RCB IPL 2025 Qualifier 1 match [Watch]
Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) comeback man Josh Hazlewood provided a breakthrough in his first over of the Qualifier 1 match against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Thursday in Mullanpur. PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer played an ugly hoick, but could only manage an edge through to Jitesh Sharma.
Hazlewood bowled first change after Yash Dayal and Bhuvneshwar Kumar took the new ball, and generated extra bounce on the fourth delivery of his first over of the innings. Iyer tried to force it away to on-side for a boundary, but the ball caught the edge of the bat and Jitesh Sharma took it comfortably behind the stumps.
Watch the video here of the dismissal as Iyer had to walk back after scoring a brace:
The Aussie seamer had replaced Nuwan Thushara in the line-up, having been declared fit for the big clash after a shoulder injury. It was the only change announced by Rajat Patidar, who also returned for the clash to lead the side.
Punjab Kings had also triggered one change to their XI, drafting in Azmatullah Omarzai for South African pacer Marco Jansen, who returned home for the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
Josh Hazlewood dismisses Josh Inglis for his second wicket of the innings
Hazlewood dismissed Josh Inglis for four as the Australian wicket-keeper attempted a hook shot but only managed a top-edge, which carried to Bhuvneshwar Kumar at deep fine-leg. Before Hazlewood's exploits with the ball, Yash Dayal dismissed Priyansh Arya (7), followed by Bhuvneshwar getting the better of Prabhsimran Singh (14).
At the time of writing, the Punjab Kings were in the mire, sliding to 71/7 after 10 overs. Both Royal Challengers and Punjab Kings had won their final league match of IPL 2025 to become the top two sides, thereby getting the advantage in the playoffs.