Josh Hazlewood showed exactly why Royal Challengers Bengaluru splashed the cash for his services as the refreshed Australian seamer produced suffocating spells to help his team secure an opening victory in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Former India cricketer Varun Aaron said on ESPNcricinfo's T20 TimeOut show, "This is completely walking the talk, the way Salt and Virat started, and the way Virat ended, [it] was setting a precedent, and saying, 'you know what, this is the kind of cricket we're going to play; if you can score more than us, all the best'."

Liam Livingstone sealed RCB’s dominant 7-wicket win with a six and a four as they chased 175 in 16.2 overs. Virat Kohli anchored with a fifty, while Phil Salt and Rajat Patidar’s quickfire knocks powered the victory.