In 2010, Josh Hazlewood, had the task of providing Australia with the early breakthrough in the Under-19 World Cup final against Pakistan. Chasing a score of 208, Pakistan had already collected 15 runs on the board. The tension was mounting for the men wearing yellow jerseys. And just like that, Hazlewood struck by dismissing Ahsan Ali. In this context, the keynotes to observe were awkward bounce, hitting the bat hard on impact and higher up on the splice, along with exemplary control. Due to Hazlewood’s heavy artillery, Ahsan was stuck on the back foot.

Instead of living in flashbacks, let’s fast-forward to present times. At 34, Hazlewood has become a thoroughbred pace bowler, but those valuable attributes are still the nuts and bolts of his game. And those trails helped Hazlewood to leave Chennai Super Kings’ passionate fans stunned into silence, in the cauldron of Chepauk. By the completion of his first over itself, CSK had lost a couple of wickets. Such was the impact of those scalps that Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, his pace colleague, had already altered the script in favour of RCB.

Rahul Tripathi, the CSK opener, tried to nail the pull, but the ball hit the bat hard on impact, alongside higher up on the willow. All that Tripathi could do was spoon a catch to Phil Salt at midwicket. Hazlewood also blended disconcerting bounce with nip to whistle past Ruturaj Gaikwad’s edge. The CSK skipper perhaps had enough of being beaten on the outside edge. Under pressure to keep up with the mounting required-rate, he attempted a pull stroke. Unfortunately for Gaikwad, Hazlewood’s ‘heavy ball’ did the damage as the veteran seamer bagged his second wicket.

So, is Hazlewood’s skill set restricted to just the bounce factor, alongside nip and his unremitting control? The answer is no. There is perhaps one more hidden skill in his quiver, which in turn acts as a buffer to his bowling. The ability to watch the feet of the batter and make that late adjustment.

To illustrate the point, let’s consider the 18th over of KKR’s innings, in the opening fixture of IPL 2025. With KKR in desperate need of powerful blows, Ramandeep Singh was lining up Hazlewood’s bowling in order to hoick one across the line.  However, Hazlewood seemed to have adjusted at the nth moment as he shifted his line slightly more to off-stump and ushered in a well-executed yorker. All that the all-rounder could do was jam out the toe-crusher.

So, how is Hazlewood able to watch the feet of the batter like a hawk? Is it about preternatural reflexes? Perhaps it is to do with the mechanics of his action? Andre Adams, who coached Hazlewood during his stint with New South Wales, said this to the writer in 2022: “Josh has enough time from when his back foot hits, to adjust. Some bowlers with faster actions don’t have much time to adjust.”

Adams also gave his inputs on Hazlewood’s ability to bowl the heavy ball. “The run-up, speed and the ability to hold himself at the crease is crucial. So, that ability to transfer all his weight to the target is one of the reasons why he bowls such a heavy ball. At such a deceptive pace too, because it might say 134 or 135 kph, but it is the steep bounce. I guess it is the energy behind the ball that surprises a lot of batsmen.”

In the ongoing IPL, Hazlewood hasn’t just taken five wickets but his economy rate stands at an impressive 5.37. Incidentally, even three years ago, Hazlewood had made a considerable impact on RCB’s fortunes, bagging 20 scalps. Seven of those scalps came in the PowerPlay; a phase in which his economy rate stood at 6.54.

Simply put, Hazlewood is one of the cheat codes for RCB’s think tank to crack the litmus test of filling the franchise’s empty cabinet with a trophy. Here is a bowler who throws a spanner in the works of batters during different phases of the innings.

CLICK HERE FOR LATEST SPORTS NEWS

Also Read:

CSK vs RCB, IPL 2025: 3 Reasons why this win over CSK is special for RCB?

CSK vs RCB: RCB End 17-Year Chepauk Curse with Dominant Win Over CSK