Josh Hazlewood, the pacer for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, said that the pitch at Chinnaswamy wasn’t typical this time, and the batsmen struggled to learn from earlier games, which led to their third straight loss at home. They fell to Punjab Kings by five wickets in a match limited to 14 overs per side on Friday, having already lost to Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals.
Hazlewood mentioned, This pitch is not what we usually see. The bounce has been there, but in past years, it’s been more consistent. He added that RCB’s mentor, Dinesh Karthik, also wasn’t happy with the pitch after the team’s loss to Delhi and wanted to discuss it with the local curator.
He pointed out that not having a strong start in the power play hurt the team. It’s three losses at home now. We’ve been a bit slow to pick up on what we learned from the first two games and didn’t apply it well, especially in those first six to eight overs, he said.
Despite the setbacks, Hazlewood believes the team can turn things around soon. We’ll take a close look at this game when we get back to Bangalore, go over it carefully, and think of ways to improve, he said.
He noted that the bowling has gotten better compared to the last two matches, but it’s not happening fast enough. Hazlewood also advised his batting teammates to take a step back and evaluate the conditions before going for big shots. It might help to slow down a bit and give yourself some time. In the first two games, the other team’s batsman made big runs and built partnerships late in the game. If our top batsmen can perform well for the full 20 overs, it’ll really help us win, he explained.
