After Delhi Capitals’ dramatic batting collapse, South African legend Dale Steyn pointed out that modern batters are failing to prepare adequately for hard lengths—a weakness ruthlessly exploited by Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar during Monday night’s IPL clash.
Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar tore through the Delhi Capitals line-up, claiming six wickets within the first four overs and reducing DC to just 75 all out in 16.3 overs for Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Steyn observed that while batters aren’t necessarily intimidated, they lack the technical preparation to counter the consistent hard lengths delivered by top pacers like Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar, Kagiso Rabada and Jofra Archer.
“Watching Buvi, Hazelwood, throw KG and Archer in there too, there’s a genuine fear from batters—not because they’re scared, but because they know exactly where these greats are going to bowl and don’t practice enough in that area to have answers,” Steyn wrote on X.
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He further added, “The fear is technical skill. It’s too deep into the tournament to fix now—watch these bowlers continue to dominate. It’s called a hard length for a reason…” Former South African batter Herschelle Gibbs offered a complementary perspective, suggesting that batters are also reluctant to disrupt bowlers’ rhythm by advancing down the pitch.
“No batter keen to run at them to get them off their lengths,” Gibbs responded. Delhi Capitals, reeling at 8 for 6 early on, limped to 13 for 6 at the end of the powerplay—the lowest score ever recorded in that phase in IPL history. This collapse came just a match after DC had posted a massive 264/2 against Punjab Kings, a total they ultimately failed to defend.
