Speaking before the crucial clash, Hazlewood highlighted the advantage of bowling alongside Bhuvneshwar, whose ability to strike early has consistently put opposition teams under pressure. \u201cIt's pretty handy. You're bowling the second over at probably number three and four batters sometimes. So you don't even need to do your homework on the opener sometimes,\u201d Hazlewood told the broadcasters ahead of the match.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The Australian quick also praised Bhuvneshwar\u2019s remarkable consistency this season, especially his control with the new ball. \u201cBhuvi has been in fantastic form. I still think he's leading the wickets, maybe, and his economy is unbelievable. So he's been on fire,\u201d he added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Bhuvneshwar is having an outstanding IPL 2026 campaign, leading the race for the Purple Cap as the tournament's top wicket-taker with 24 wickets in 14 matches. Playing for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), he has become the cornerstone of their bowling attack, proving age is just a number with an average of 16.38 and a good economy of 7.70.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Hazlewood also stressed the importance of creating pressure against the Gujarat Titans\u2019 top-heavy batting line-up, which has relied heavily on its leading batters throughout the season. \u201cObviously, they rely pretty heavily on the top three. They've done most of their work at the top of the order throughout the whole tournament,\u201d Hazlewood said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThey're class players. If you bowl poorly, they hurt you big time. But if you can string a couple of dots together, create pressure and get a couple of early wickets, that's key,\u201d he added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Hazlewood also stressed the importance of creating pressure against the Gujarat Titans\u2019 top-heavy batting line-up, which has relied heavily on its leading batters throughout the season. \u201cObviously, they rely pretty heavily on the top three. They've done most of their work at the top of the order throughout the whole tournament,\u201d Hazlewood said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cTraining, as you know, in these tournaments, you can train when you can, really. There's so much travel and recovery after games. There's a game every couple of days, so it is tough to train sometimes, especially as a quick,\u201d he said. \u201cIt's probably been more the messaging and just getting the boys together from time to time and talking about what's to come,\u201d he added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n