After seeing Jacob Duffy’s IPL debut during the RCB vs SRH, it’s pretty sure everyone will be hoping that their jobs were similar. Of course, not when it comes to bowling at Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head early on, but the fact that it just lasted seven overs before he went back to the dugout.
But by the time Duffy was done with his day’s work, he wrecked the Hyderabad top order and put RCB on top in the IPL 2026 opener. The New Zealand pacer, who bought for his base price of Rs. 2 crore, picked up three wickets for just 22 runs in his four overs. This included a double-wicket strike that saw Abhishek and Head return to the pavilion and then dismiss Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Duffy bowled four overs on the trot and was substituted immediately, with Devdutt Padikkal coming on in place of him.
CAN DUFFY HEAD BACK TO THE HOTEL NOW?
RCB mentor Dinesh Karthik came in for a chat during the match, where he asked what was Duffy’s reaction after being taken off the field.
“As soon as he came he said this is the best that I’ve ever played. I’m done for the day,” said Karthik.
Kevin Pietersen asked if Duffy could head back to the hotel as he is done for the day and Karthik said that matchday obligations mean that he will have to stay at the stadium.
“Ideally, he can go back to the hotel if he wants to, but because there’s a game, he’s got to wait. But the point is that he’s done for the day. He can’t bat. He, in fact, can’t even walk into the field as a substitute at any point in time. So in many words, I would say his game is done. He’s done a wonderful job,” said Karthik.
IS DUFFY THE PERFECT HAZLEWOOD FOIL?
Karthik said that they got Duffy because he was similar to Josh Hazlewood in terms of skills. Hazlewood is with the RCB squad and is expected to be fit and ready soon.
“We really believe Duffy could do exactly something very similar to what a Josh Hazlewood could do, and he showed a version of that today, very happy with how he started,” said Karthik.
Duffy registered the third-best performance by a debutant for RCB in their history.
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