Josh Hazlewood of Australia took two wickets and allowed just 15 runs in three overs as Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Lucknow Super Giants by 18 runs at the latter’s home field. Hazlewood was making his comeback from an Achilles injury. Notably, the Faf du Plessis-led team scored just 126 runs while batting first; as a result, they needed a miraculous bowling performance to prevail.
Notably, RCB took four wickets during the powerplay, which established the tone for the innings as the LSG hitters had trouble all night. It was RCB’s game to lose after Krishnappa Gowtham, 34, became embroiled in a run-out incident despite his attempts to fight back in the middle.
Karn Sharma also took two wickets in addition to Hazlewood, while Mohammed Siraj, Glenn Maxwell, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Harshal Patel each took one.
Hazlewood also discussed how Siraj gave RCB a wonderful start in the first over while discussing how the bowlers’ performance against LSG. He also said that it’s beneficial for the bowlers to occasionally bowl on a pitch that favors them.
“It was a welcome change. At Chinnaswammy, which has been a batting haven, we’ve played a lot of cricket. I believe it’s beneficial to periodically have one for the bowlers in a game with low scoring. It was an exciting and closely contested game. According to Hazlewood, who India Today cited, one team was never truly out of it.
“In Siraj’s first over, it began. I believe one run and a wicket were offered. We sort of jumped on the back of that because it was a terrific start. It was a difficult wicket to bat on, so I believe at halftime we knew we were still in the game. To win the game, we were aware that we had to bowl them out. They would have scored 130 runs if they used seven or eight hitters to bat the 20 overs. Attacking and getting wickets were the only goals, he continued.
Tonight was a stepping stone for Achilles, who is doing pretty well, says Josh Hazlewood.
Josh Hazlewood, despite traveling to India for it, missed the crucial Border-Gavaskar Trophy because of an Achilles injury that sidelined him for a number of months. The ace bowler for RCB in the current IPL 2023 missed the team’s first eight games, but when he returned, he stunned everyone.
While discussing his physical condition, the 32-year-old said that his Achilles was doing pretty well and that he was glad to finally get going.
“Having a hit out in the center tonight was good. Achilles seems to be doing okay. Tonight served as a stepping stone, said Hazlewood.
India
