Krunal Pandya, Phil Salt and Virat Kohli hogged the limelight in Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s comprehensive seven-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday. But one should also give some credit to senior Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood, whose spell of 2/22 in four overs was no less important.
Of his two wickets, Quinton de Kock’s dismissal in the first over of this edition was certainly vital for RCB. The Eden pitch, remaining under covers for a good amount of time, had some moisture in it and Hazlewood utilised that to fair effect, consistently hitting the hard lengths which helped him to bowl 16 dot balls.
This was Hazlewood’s first competitive game since a spate of injuries ruled him out of a good part of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the Sri Lanka tour and the Champions Trophy. Ahead of the World Test Championship final at Lord’s this June, Australia do need one of their vital cogs in the bowling attack to be at his freshest. And in his own assessment, Hazlewood does feel “refreshed.”
“Yeah, I feel pretty good. I feel like I got through the game very well. I know the intensity is through the roof, but to bowl four overs is good for me at the moment,” he said at the news conference.
“I feel like I’ll just keep building throughout the tournament and it’s probably the freshest I’ve been in a long time. I haven’t played since I think it was mid-December. So, the body is feeling fresh.
“I’ve done a lot of work off the field to get back to this point, but I think mentally and physically I’m refreshed. So hopefully, it holds me in good stead for the next few months.”
“If Josh is fit, he’s strong enough to keep hitting those hard lengths consisently,” former Australia opener Matthew Hayden told The Telegraph during the innings break. “For sure, his fitness will be crucial for Australia in the WTC final.”
On the other hand, the defending champions refused to read too much into the opening game defeat. Although captain Ajinkya Rahane didn’t say it in a complaining manner, he did state that the Knight Riders would be happier if the Eden pitch aided their spinners.
“We would love to see the pitch helping our spinners. No complaints, though,” Rahane said. “This wicket was under cover for the last few days, because of which there was moisture. And Hazlewood made use of it. But yeah, we would love to see some turn in the wicket, but again, we aren’t complaining.”
