Has there been a better signing for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at an IPL auction in recent history? You’ll have a hard time thinking of a name apart from Josh Hazlewood, who’s been a massive boost for the Red and Gold Brigade at IPL 2025 so far. Yes, the likes of Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar and Tim David have been phenomenal, but RCB’s main weapon has been the Australian maestro, who’s perhaps one of the best all-format bowlers alongside Jasprit Bumrah currently.
Josh Hazlewood’s menace at IPL 2025
No, he’s not a fancy express pacer who zips past a batter’s head like wind. No, he doesn’t have a slingy action or even a loopy one to deceive someone. Instead, Hazlewood’s a traditional right-arm pacer who relies on bowling at wicket-to-wicket areas consistently. Consistently is a key word here because Hazlewood’s U.S.P. is that he “bores” a batter, bowling at a spot again and again, thus forcing a mistake.
At Rs 12.50 crore, he’s been quite fantastic, having taken 18 wickets, which is the most by any player so far at IPL 2025. Hazlewood is the current Purple Cap holder, an honour worn by bowlers with the most wickets at one particular moment. In powerplay, he’s taken wickets consistently and at the death. Hazlewood recently won RCB a game against the Rajasthan Royals, too.
Josh Hazlewood is now the Purple cap holder of the IPL 2⃣0⃣2⃣5⃣
: JioStar #DCvsRCB #IPL2025 #Delhi #Insidesport #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/Z7XFowhewP
— InsideSport (@InsideSportIND) April 27, 2025
: JioStar
Crucial wickets in DC vs RCB match
Fascinatingly, Hazlewood grabbed the Purple Cap with his twin strikes in the DC vs RCB game at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. He was quite superb, especially in his first three overs. His first wicket was Abhishek Porel, who was looking threatening in the start. Next, Hazlewood displayed tremendous class by knocking the middle stump of Axar, who had no idea of ball coming late into him. In his first three overs, Hazlewood leaked just 19 runs and took two wickets.
As a result, he also became the first bowler to dish out as many as 100 dot balls in this ongoing IPL 2025 season. Mohammed Siraj and Khaleel Ahmed follow next with 93 dot deliveries. In total, Hazlewood has bowled 215 balls so far. That means the 34-year-old has dished out more than 47% of his overall balls without getting hit for a single run at IPL 2025 so far. Absolutely absurd!
Most dot balls at IPL 2025 ft. Hazlewood
| Player | Dots | Wkts | Avg | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Hazlewood (RCB) | 102 | 18 | 16.33 | 12.00 |
| Mohammed Siraj (GT) | 93 | 12 | 23.58 | 16.00 |
| Khaleel Ahmed (CSK) | 93 | 12 | 24.00 | 16.00 |
| Jofra Archer (RR) | 87 | 9 | 34.44 | 22.33 |
| Prasidh Krishna (GT) | 85 | 16 | 14.12 | 11.62 |
Purple Cap list for IPL 2025
| Player | Inns | Wkts | BBI | Econ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Hazlewood | 10 | 18 | 4/33 | 8.44 |
| Prasidh Krishna | 8 | 16 | 4/41 | 7.29 |
| Noor Ahmad | 9 | 14 | 4/18 | 8.03 |
| Trent Boult | 10 | 13 | 4/26 | 8.55 |
| Krunal Pandya | 10 | 13 | 4/45 | 8.62 |
Josh Hazlewood stats at IPL 2025
| Wkts | Inns | Economy | SR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | 10 | 8.44 | 12.00 |
The post Josh Hazlewood continues “Purple” patch for RCB, becomes 1st bowler to bowl 100 dot balls at IPL 2025 appeared first on Inside Sport India.