Marcus Stoinis appeared to lose his bearings for a moment in Dharamsala after a full toss clipped him on the thigh pad. But the ball did something unexpected late in its flight, pulling back just enough to stay in danger. Josh Hazlewood, as he has often done in IPL 2026, created that pressure by angling the seam toward fine leg and then turning the screws in the death overs.
Quick facts
- Hazlewood’s setup included reverse movement and seam bowling slanted toward fine leg.
- Punjab Kings required 63 off 24 balls in the chase.
- RCB won the match by 23 runs.
- RCB were able to benefit from the absence of dew, which allowed them to use the tail effectively.
- At the death, RCB have bowled 54 yorkers this IPL—more than any other team.
- RCB’s yorkers conceded at a strike rate of 115.
- RCB’s attempted yorkers land on the “perfect” length 47% of the time.
The contest began to tilt right as the chase entered its final phase. Punjab Kings still needed 63 from 24 deliveries, and Stoinis alongside Shashank Singh were carrying momentum. The context mattered too: this was a similar stage where Delhi Capitals had needed 53 in their last four against PBKS just six nights earlier—and still managed to finish with an over to spare.
This time, though, the conditions and execution swung toward RCB. Bengaluru have usually looked a level above Punjab Kings, and with no dew to interfere, they squeezed out the extra advantage they were chasing. Two balls after the early disruption, Hazlewood produced the exact ball he had been working for—an incoming yorker that swung late into the base of the leg stump, leaving Stoinis with little margin. In the end, those yorkers simply overwhelmed PBKS, who fell short by 23 runs.
Why the yorker plan works for RCB
RCB’s ability to land yorkers during the slog overs has been a key thread in their successful league campaign. Both Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hazlewood are comfortable leaning on yorkers at the death, while Rasikh Salam was already built as a specialist option from the start of his career as a yorker bowler.
It also explains why the RCB quicks have been so consistent in piling up yorkers at the end of innings. Their total of 54 yorkers at the death is the highest by any side this season, based on data shared by analyst and writer Himanish Ganjoo. Only Chennai Super Kings have produced a higher percentage of yorkers at the death than RCB.
Strike rate alone doesn’t tell the full story. Even so, teams would gladly accept the 115 strike rate RCB have conceded on their yorkers. The real value comes from the cost of the alternatives—when yorkers fail, they don’t just miss, they often turn into full tosses or balls that sit up in the slot. That’s why RCB have become the third-best bowling unit at the death, with only Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad ahead, aided by other combinations such as mystery spin and reverse swing.
There’s also a reason most teams avoid yorkers frequently. The margin for error is tight: if the ball goes wrong, it typically becomes easier for batters to punish. A useful benchmark is how far the “ideal” yorker lands from the stumps—if it’s between 0.5m and 2.5m, you can treat it as a proper yorker length. Anything fuller than 4m is then considered an attempted yorker. In this IPL, only CSK’s quicks have managed to nail half of their attempted yorkers, with every other team still trailing.
Mumbai Indians tried to bowl yorkers the most often, but only 29% of their attempts reached that perfect zone. RCB’s success rate is far higher at 47%, and only CSK have better numbers than that. Across the board, CSK’s economy at the death is only marginally worse than RCB’s, underscoring how effective the execution has been at the finish.
RCB’s personnel also plays a role. The side benefits from two seasoned fast bowlers, one of whom holds the Purple Cap and delivers as powerfully in T20 cricket as he ever has. That experience makes the yorker a dependable option rather than a gamble. Rasikh may not have the same seniority, but his yorker volume in nets—and his prior work for DC—has been eye-catching.
When RCB commit to yorkers, they generally get rewarded at the other end of the over too. With Bengaluru landing roughly half of their attempted yorkers, they give away about seven runs off the six deliveries in that category—an advantage when defending totals. RCB also know how to protect scores under pressure: they won the IPL 2025 final after losing the toss and still defending successfully. This season, they’re among the four teams that have won as often as—or nearly as often as—they’ve lost when batting first.
If the yorker execution holds steady across their next three or four matches, RCB look well placed to keep pressure on opponents and give themselves a strong shot at defending the title.
