Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeated Kolkata Knight Riders by seven wickets in the Indian Premier League 2025 season opener. RCB's bowlers combined to restrict the defending champions to 174/8 at Eden Gardens. While Krunal Pandya led with 3/29, Josh Hazlewood provided the early breakthrough, finishing with 2/22 in his four overs. Speaking to the media after the match, Hazlewood reflected on his plans for the KKR batters. "The full ball probably wasn't gonna do as much unless you were searching for swing. I found that it was sort of sticking in the wicket a little and the bounce was quite good. I like bowling here at Eden Gardens. And yeah, we just sort of stuck to our lengths," he said. Speaking about his plans to Quinton de Kock, he said the plan was to hit the hard lengths more often. "I've bowled quite a lot to Quinton de Kock in all formats. He is a very dangerous player, so it is better to keep it simple and really tight. The plan was not trying to go too full or too short, really sticking to those hard lengths," he said. He further added: "If he makes something off that length for four or six, then that's just a good shot. So yeah, sticking to my strengths, definitely." KKR managed to score only nine runs in the first three overs of the powerplay. During that time, Hazlewood managed to keep Narine quiet. Talking about his plans to him, the Australian pacer revealed that he made use of the bounce in the pitch to keep the West Indian all-rounder quiet. "When it comes to Narine, when the wicket has got some good bounce in it, that's helpful for the bowlers. He's very much a powerful powerplay batter, and he is always up to take on the bowling and score quickly. So to keep him quiet was very handy," he said. GONE!⚡🧤After getting a life, #QuintondeKock is caught behind courtesy a neat catch and #JoshHazlewood has the first wicket of #TATAIPL 2025! ❤ Watch LIVE action: https://t.co/iB1oqMusYv #IPLonJioStar 👉 #KKRvRCB, LIVE NOW on Star Sports Network & JioHotstar! pic.twitter.com/8W2uZzcDng — Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) March 22, 2025 'Krunal bowled beautifully in the middle' Josh Hazlewood also credited Krunal Pandya for the way he bowled in the middle overs. The Baroda all-rounder, who made his debut for the franchise, was the player of the match for his three wickets. "KP [Krunal] bowled beautifully through the middle. Luckily, I got to bowl to sort of the tail towards the end, but I think the hard lengths work best here most of the time," he said. Also Read: Fans Flood Twitter After KKR vs RCB IPL 2025 Opener Josh Hazlewood was a part of RCB in the 2022 and 2023 editions but missed the 2024 season and got back to the squad in the mega auction. The franchise went all-in to grab the Australian pacer for INR 12.50 Crores, their most expensive pick during the IPL 2025 auction.