For RCB, Josh Hazlewood has been a cheat code. When they need wickets in the powerplay, middle or the death, the Australian pacer has been the man they turn to. He had 22 wickets in 12 matches when they went to claim the IPL title in 2025 and has 12 scalps to his name from 11 matches this time around. This made the Bengaluru fans fondly call him ‘Hazlegod’ purely based on his skill and the way he functioned with the ball.
But on Friday, May 22, Heinrich Klaasen decided to take down Hazlewood in what was carnage at the Uppal stadium and show that he was also a mortal in the end. Klaasen has been enjoying a purple patch this season, not with his usual destructive ways, but with a measured approach.
He said that his mindset has changed and he wasn’t trying to strike at 300 this season. But against RCB, he decided to go back to his old ways and unleash his fury on the RCB bowlers and particularly Hazlewood.
Now, many moments could have easily become the Play Of The Day for the SRH vs RCB clash. Ishan Kishan continuing his fine form against Bengaluru and the way the Hyderabad bowlers cleverly used slower deliveries to nullify RCB’s firepower are worthy shouts.
But just for his pure brilliance, Klaasen takes home the honour for the match.
SRH vs RCB: UPDATES | SCORECARD
KLAASEN SCARES RCB BOWLERS
SRH went out to score big and that was something Pat Cummins said at the toss. Travishek got going and put on 45 runs for the first wicket in four overs.
Abhishek Sharma and Kishan added 52 in the next 4.2 overs to push the run-rate even further. Abhishek scored a fine fifty but didn’t waste time and allowed Klaasen to come in.
But something seemed to be off. Klaasen wasn’t timing the ball well and suddenly the pressure seemed to build on the South African batter.
For SRH, they needed to beat RCB by 89 or more to make it to the top two spot. Sensing an opportunity to pull things back, Rajat Patidar gave the ball to Hazlewood.
At that time, the score was 129 for 2 in 12 overs. Hazlewood started pace off to start things but then decided to sneak in a yorker to Klaasen.
But the South African produced a stunning shot to send the ball into the stands. The next two deliveries were wides and then he got smoked once again. There was a bit of reverse swing on offer, but Klaasen was set to send it into the stands. The next one was wide but Klaasen was able to sneak in another boundary.
The agony continued for Hazlewood as the next ball went for a six. He took a single in the end to make it 27 from the over and the score was 156 for two in 13 overs.
“5 from 12 was a little bit under pressure in this format. The team was going at 11 or 12, so I had to catch up very quickly. It was either catch up or get out,” said Klaasen.
But the hitting from Klaasen was able to set fear inside the minds of the RCB bowlers as they just leaked runs after that over. The next five overs saw 82 runs get scored as SRH posted 255.
This was Hazlewood’s third-worst bowling performance in the IPL as he went wicketless and conceded 55 runs in his four overs.
RCB FAIL TO GET A KLAASEN-ESQUE PERFORMANCE
When RCB got into the chase, they got off to a flyer. Venkatesh Iyer made a big impact right at the top with 44 off 19 balls and despite losing the openers, they got 75 off the powerplay. To put into context, that was 12 runs more than what Hyderabad got.
But right in the middle, where Klaasen got going, they missed a performance like Klaasen. Rajat Patidar got stuck in with a fine fifty but his innings lacked the same destruction that Klaasen had.
Especially during overs 13–18, RCB got just 50 runs, whereas Hyderabad went berserk.
Devdutt Padikkal also started brilliantly but the Hyderabad bowling ensured that the batters didn’t run away on a good track.
They could have possibly sent in Tim David early ahead of Krunal Pandya to make that impact. In the end, they were able to scrap into the top two spot.
But the night belonged to SRH and Klaasen, who looks to be in ominous form with 606 runs from 14 matches.
IPL 2026 | IPL Schedule | IPL Points Table | IPL Player Stats | Purple Cap | Orange Cap | IPL Videos | Cricket News | Live Score
– Ends
