TimesofIndia.com in Mullanpur: In the last couple of years, Josh Hazlewood has taken his T20 game to the next level. The seamer is six feet five inches tall, has a high release point, and he makes the most of it.
The ball that nailed Punjab Kings' Josh Inglis in Qualifier 1 was not too short. It was just an effort ball, and his fellow countryman was undone by the extra bounce. On Thursday night against the Kings, he picked up 3 for 21, and dismantled the opposition in the powerplay by getting rid of their in-form captain Shreyas Iyer.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!For a bowler who hadn’t seemed too clued about the T20 format in his earlier days, Hazlewood is playing a different game now. He sees it as a natural evolution of playing more and more T20s.
Who's that IPL player?"I think, purely just opportunity and experience of playing the format more often, different leagues, obviously mostly international but I think I've really improved," he told reporters after RCB cruised to their fourth final, following a convincing eight-wicket victory over Punjab Kings.
"You just learn every year. I think you always learn something and you sort of just take that and put it into your arsenal and remember that the next time. You can train all you want but I think playing the game, playing T20 cricket, you are learning all the time, so yeah that is probably the main thing I think that has made me improve as a T20 bowler. Purely the opportunity and the learning from the experiences," he added.
Hazlewood missed a few matches for RCB after he sustained a shoulder injury.
"Worked really hard the last few weeks on the shoulders to get back and got some good overs into it the last sort of 10 days. I was happy with tonight, the wicket helped obviously, didn't it? Not having to bowl fast yorkers or anything like that. So yeah, it is good to be back," he said.
The break proved to be a blessing in disguise for the Australian pacer. He has not only recovered but is raring to go for the second World Test Championship (WTC) final, starting from June 11 against South Africa.
"I've got to be bowling, you know, wherever I am in the world I've got to be bowling, getting ready for that game anyway. There's no better place than, I think, out in the middle, obviously you've got to bowl more, more hours of training from time to time to build up for a Test, but to get that intensity right up, there's no better place than the IPL. I don't bowl too much differently in Test match cricket than tonight," said Hazlewood.
Hazlewood suggests RCB has got all the bases covered when it comes to bowling. He said: "I think we've just got all bases covered, it feels like. I think any one of the five or six bowlers can bowl at any moment of the game, whether it's the start, middle or end."
"I think it obviously helps having Bhuvi, who has so much experience, quite a calm customer, so that sort of rubs off on the rest of their attack. I'm probably pretty similar to Bhuvi as well in that regard, everything is quite relaxed, quite calm, focus on your skill and try and execute that," he added.
A couple of years ago, Australia head coach Andrew McDonald had summed up Hazlewood’s rise in T20s: “If you give a highly-skilled bowler a chance in the format, he will work it out.” In a way, he was correct. Hazlewood hasn't changed as a bowler. The soul of his bowling is to hit that good length consistently and keep trapping the batters, who always go for an adventure in this format.
With 21 wickets in just 11 games, Hazlewood has shown that he is probably the most crucial piece in RCB's quest for an elusive title.
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