IPL 2026: Hazlewood-Bhuvneshwar give RCB shades of MI’s Bumrah-Boult dominance

The Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi was brought to a standstill during Match 39 of the Indian Premier League 2026 (IPL 2026) between Delhi Capitals (DC) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), courtesy of a masterclass in swing bowling from Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Little did anyone imagine that the venue that witnessed the highest successful run chase in T20 cricket a few days back would have such a dramatic change in the script. The sweet sound of the willow and the deafening roar of the crowd gave way to the unsettling rattle of stumps as DC batters failed to live up to the expectations of their home crowd.

A menacing new-ball spell delivered through the experienced wrists of Bhuvneshwar and Hazlewood transformed the high-scoring surface of Delhi into swinging conditions of England with their mastery.

Bhuvneshwar and Hazlewood rewrote script with new ball

It only took two deliveries for Bhuvneshwar to make his impact as he cleaned up debutant Sahil Parakh with an in-swinging yorker. At the other end, Josh Hazlewood bounced out last game’s centurion KL Rahul on the very first delivery and later found the outside edge of Sameer Rizvi to send him on his way back to the pavilion.

In no time, DC were reduced to 8/6 and finished the powerplay on 13/6, the lowest score after the first six overs in the tournament’s history. Bhuvneshwar (3/5) and Hazlewood (4/12) eventually bundled the hosts for 75 as RCB scripted a dominating nine-wicket victory.

The swing bowling masterclass from the duo was reminiscent of the formidable new-ball pair of Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult from IPL 2020. Both Bumrah and Boult played a pivotal role in the Mumbai Indians’ (MI) fifth title win as they set up the game in the powerplay itself with their strikes, not allowing the opposition to get away from ball one.

Can RCB recreate MI's dominance from 2020?

Bumrah (27 wickets) and Boult (25 wickets) were the second and third-highest wicket takers of the season, respectively, as MI clinched their fifth IPL title in the most dominant manner possible.

In the ongoing season, Bhuvneshwar (14 wickets) and Hazlewood (8 wickets) are replicating the same for RCB this season as they look for a successful defence of their title. The duo is already the most successful seam-bowling pair in the tournament since 2025 and has rung alarm bells for the oppositions after thrashing Delhi.

Best seam bowling pair in IPL (2025-26)