• Home
  • Who Said What
  • Slow On Learnings Hazlewood Ends Up Trolling Rcb After Shameful Pbks Loss

"Slow On Learnings" Hazlewood Ends Up Trolling RCB After Shameful PBKS Loss

Soumyajit Dutta

Josh Hazlewood and Virat Kohli [Source: @chakkani_chinni/X]Josh Hazlewood and Virat Kohli [Source: @chakkani_chinni/X]

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) slumped to their third straight home loss this IPL season, falling short by five wickets against Punjab Kings in a rain-shortened 14-over contest at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. Chasing 96, Punjab crossed the line with seven balls to spare, exposing RCB’s recurring struggles in adapting to challenging conditions. 

The defeat followed earlier losses to Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals, raising questions about the team’s ability to capitalise on home advantage.

Hazlewood Slings Mud On Own Franchise

RCB’s woes were compounded by an underperforming batting lineup and an unusually inconsistent pitch, which players and staff labelled atypical for the venue. Pacer Josh Hazlewood highlighted the surface’s unpredictable bounce and the batters’ failure to implement lessons from prior games.

"Yeah, I think it's not a typical Chinnaswamy wicket. Obviously the bounce has always been there, but in past years, it's probably been more consistent," said Hazlewood, emphasizing RCB’s slow start in powerplays as a recurring flaw. 

He admitted the team’s learnings from previous matches weren’t executed effectively but expressed confidence in a turnaround. 

"Yeah, it's obviously three (defeats) in a row now at home. It's just we've probably been a bit slow on the learnings from the first two games and didn't put that into practice as well as we could have, probably in those first probably six to eight overs, obviously, with the score the way it was," said Hazlewood.

"We’ll dive into this game, go through details with a fine-tooth comb, and come up with ideas to improve. The bowling has gotten better, but we need to accelerate progress," Hazlewood said on RCB's progress at bounce backs.

The Australian pacer urged batters to balance aggression with situational awareness. "Pulling back a touch, giving yourself time, and letting top-order batters anchor the innings could be key. If our top five-six bat through 20 overs, it’ll make a difference," he added.

With the current home loss, RCB is now in fourth place on the points table and has 8 points to their name. With their next game coming up against Punjab again on April 20, Patidar & Co. will like to turn things around for a sweet revenge.