IPL Final: How Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood and Rasikh Dar blew GT away with bowling masterclass

Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Virat Kohli celebrate after Gujarat Titans’ wicket in the final of IPl 2026. (Photo Credit: IPL) TimesofIndia.com in Ahmedabad: Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) pace attack proved yet again why Rajat Patidar ranks it among the best in the tournament. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood and Rasikh Salam Dar, relentlessly sticking to hard lengths and forcing the Gujarat Titans (GT) batsmen into errors, cracked the top order and put the opposition on the mat.On the eve of the match, Rajat Patidar praised Bhuvneshwar, Hazlewood, Duffy and Dar for bowling lengths in the T20 Test cricket match. The trio shared seven wickets between them and blew GT away with precise lengths at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.“If you want to win the competition, you need a good bowling attack. And it’s important to take wickets because it’s easy to score 200-220 on this track. But defending 200-220 is more difficult. So you need a better bowling side,” Patidar said.Gujarat Titans’ top three, Shubman Gill (10), Sai Sudharsan (12) and Nishant Sindhu (20), all fell to deliveries pitched at a good length.Bhuvneshwar, who has drawn a lot of praise this season, including from the great Sachin Tendulkar, was at the top of the order. He challenged Gill with an inswinger which the GT skipper knocked to mid-on. Then he threw a jaffa that almost kissed Gill’s outer edge. However, Gill fought back with excellent cover.

RCB’s Josh Hazlewood and his teammates celebrate a wicket. (NOT a photo)

Hazlewood, who came on at third in place of Jacob Duffy, followed a similar plan. To counter RCB’s tactics, Gill decided to attack Hazlewood. The Australian bowled it short and Gill smacked it over deep mid-wicket for a boundary. But Hazlewood stuck to the plan and got his man on the very next ball.Gill danced down the track again but this time the ball was not short enough. He ended up lobbing it in the air and RCB skipper Rajat Patidar, patrolling the middle, covered plenty of ground to send his counterpart back to the pavilion.Bhuvneshwar then dismissed Sai Sudharsan with a beauty. Moments ago, he saw Sai rushing down the track and simply kicked it over, forcing the batter to deflect away. The next serve was short again and this time Sai went for the move but couldn’t manage the shot.Keeper Jitesh Sharma ran to his right and completed an excellent catch. The previous delivery was called a no-ball, which basically meant the first legal delivery of the over. Bhuvneshwar backed up, bowled another bumper and got the reward.Dar, which was quietly the third over of RCB’s pace trio and the unsung hero, removed Nishant Sindhu. Like Gill and Sudharsan before him, Sindhu decided to move up the track after being kept in check by the wily seamer. The righthander watched closely and hit it short when he saw Sindhu advancing. The Haryana all-rounder was trying to loosen up but instead blasted it straight to Devdutt Padikkal at long-on.The Jammu and Kashmir pacer, who plies his trade with Baroda in domestic cricket, has picked up 19 wickets this season. While most of the attention has been on Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rasikh has quietly stepped up and delivered whenever called upon.“The way Rasikh came and did for the team and made these breakthroughs is important because you can’t win a competition or matches with just one or two bowlers. Rasikh’s bowling throughout the tournament was outstanding and it helps the team,” Patidar said.Rasikh finished with figures of 3 for 27.GT could also come to Washington Sundar. Duffy tested an Indian all-rounder with a sharp rebounder. Washington attempted a shot and mistimed it, but Jordan Cox couldn’t make a clean catch as the ball got stuck between the ring fingers of both hands. It stayed above the ground for a long time, but finally combed the grass.That bit of luck saved GT and Washington, otherwise the home side might have been reeling at half-time at 63 for 4. GT clawed their way to 155 for 8, courtesy of a 37-ball, 50 not out. The total will probably never be enough against RCB’s formidable batting unit.The final and their entire 2026 campaign was a reminder that batting can still win you games, but bowlers help close out tournaments.