IPL 2026: RCB’s Jacob Duffy lives up to captain Rajat Patidar’s faith
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have started their title defense with a 6-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the season opener, thanks in part to a scintillating debut by New Zealand’s Jacob Duffy. The Kiwi finished his four overs with 3 crucial wickets of Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, and Nitish Kumar Reddy, while conceding just 22 runs.
While the Chinnaswamy Stadium had already found a new favourite in Duffy, who did more than just fill in for the yet-to-be cleared Josh Hazlewood, RCB captain Rajat Patidar praised the New Zealand pacer for making the most of his opportunity. Speaking at the post-match press conference, Patidar emphasised that both he and the team management had full faith in Duffy’s T20 bowling credentials.
“As we all know, he is a specialist T20 bowler,” said Rajat Patidar, RCB captain, in the post-match press conference. “We have a lot of confidence in him and that’s why we have given him the chance. The way he is delivering and showing his skills, I think that was tremendous.”
HOW DUFFY STOLE THE SHOW IN RCB VS SRH
Duffy, who had endured a difficult outing just three weeks before the IPL opener in the T20 World Cup final against India, where he returned wicketless figures of 0 for 42 in three overs, chose to stick to his strengths.
“I just tried to keep things fairly simple,” Duffy said after receiving the Player of the Match for his ferocious opening spell. “The plan was to use the new ball, especially since it does a bit here in Bengaluru. We spoke a lot about lengths and what works on this surface.”
While Duffy’s fiery debut was the story of the day, RCB’s bowling display against SRH also carries some credit to Hazlewood himself. Duffy himself acknowledged the stature of the Australian pace ace, who is currently working his way back to full fitness after dealing with a hamstring injury and Achilles issues that ruled him out of the home Ashes and the recent T20 World Cup.
“Josh Hazlewood had a really good season here last year, so it was about building on what he did well and trying to replicate that in my own way,” Duffy said.
Despite not being available for selection, Hazlewood still played a key role behind the scenes after linking up with the squad ahead of the opener.
“The last practice session before the game, I think Hazlewood spent a lot of time with the fast bowlers, and his inputs definitely helped them (in their performance against SRH),” added Patidar during his press conference.
Duffy’s impactful spell, which included the key wickets of Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma and Nitish Kumar Reddy, ensured SRH never fully recovered from the early blows. His ability to hit hard lengths, extract bounce and adjust quickly after being put under pressure stood out, giving RCB not just a short-term replacement, but a genuine bowling option even when Hazlewood returns.
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