Every year, there are different bowlers competing with each other for the Purple Cap in the Indian Premier League. This year, many bowlers like Josh Hazlewood, Prasidh Krishna, Mitchell Starc, Noor Ahmed, Kuldeep Yadav, Krunal Pandya, etc., are competing to win the Purple Cap.
The spotlight is on Josh Hazlewood because he is currently first in line—he is holding the Purple Cap. Hazlewood is an Australian international cricketer. He is a right-arm fast-medium pace bowler, mainly known for his variations and pace. He has played a crucial role in Australia’s 2021 T20 World Cup and 2023 ODI World Cup-winning campaigns.
Josh plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore and has played 10 matches for them this season. He has taken 18 wickets for RCB this year. Also, his economy rate is quite good at 6.50. He has made RCB’s bowling attack stronger this season. Bangalore’s home ground, M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, has pitches that are in favor of Josh—there is a lot of bounce on the pitch, which suits Hazlewood.
Previous seasons didn’t go well for Josh due to injuries, and he couldn’t play, but he made a recovery this season and took 18 wickets in 10 matches. Josh is bowling fabulously with discipline—his line and length are spot on, and his pace is impressive. He is executing his yorkers on point, especially in the death overs, where he is doing an amazing job for RCB. Josh gave his best performance in the RR vs RCB match, where he took 4 wickets and gave away just 25 runs.
RR only needed 18 runs off 12 balls. Bowlers like Bhuvneshwar Kumar were getting smashed by Dhruv Jurel and Shubham Dubey—he gave them 22 runs in that over. The fans got nervous because RCB was not winning matches this season on their home ground. The 19th over changed the game in favor of RCB. That over was bowled by none other than Josh Hazlewood—he flipped the game. Fans were amazed. RCB won that match on their home ground after a long time.
RCB was at the top of the table this season. Josh has played a major role for Bangalore this year. Before entering the tournament, Josh had bowled 141 balls in the death overs since he first played in the league in 2020. This season, he has already bowled 59 balls in the death overs and taken six wickets. Josh has also shown class while bowling in the powerplay as well.
This year, there were many questions raised against RCB regarding their auction—fans were unhappy. But now, looking back, RCB has made a wonderful team. Every player is contributing, whether in fielding, bowling, or batting. When a reporter took a post-match interview with Hazlewood, he said, “I’ve focused on keeping it simple—stick to my strength, hit the hard length, vary the pace a bit, and let the pitch do the rest.”
As the league goes on, the table keeps fluctuating, and there are many bowlers in line like Prasidh Krishna with 18 wickets, Mitchell Starc with 16 wickets, Noor Ahmed with 15 wickets, Kuldeep Yadav with 14 wickets, etc. Hazlewood is consistently performing for RCB this season. Many more matches are yet to come—it’s going to be a very tough competition among bowlers. The Indian Premier League is going to be thrilling. Let’s see who gets the top spot.
Josh Hazlewood is a key player for Bangalore this season. If he continues to perform like this, there are high chances of RCB playing the finals—and you never know, they could lift the 2025 trophy after 18 years. All eyes are on Hazlewood now. Let’s see if he successfully gets the Purple Cap this season or not.
Written By Kinjal Valantra
