New Delhi, April 27 (IANS) Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s pace bowling spearhead Josh Hazlewood said he was just following the example of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and felt that there was some movement on offer to exploit, which became very deadly in them beating Delhi Capitals by nine wickets at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Monday.
Hazlewood’s 4-12 and Bhuvneshwar’s 3-5 ensured RCB bowled out DC for 75, the lowest total of this season, which they chased down with 81 balls to spare. “Probably turning up after 500+ runs, you don’t expect that. I just followed Bhuvi. There was a little bit there in the first six overs. It was a little bit up and down.
“Once the ball got soft, it became consistent. You want the batter to hit down the V, but I thought there was something in the wicket in that area, then I thought to hit the pitch, it was nice to see the ball hit the higher part of the bat,” said Hazlewood at the conclusion of the game, where he was named Player of the Match.
Asked if RCB are looking good to defend the title, Hazlewood said, “It would have been nice to bowl four overs and get off the field (laughs). But we are ticking every box. We summed up conditions nicely in the away games last year, we are hitting our straps now at the right time of the tournament.”
Bhuvneshwar, who leads the Purple Cap race, said the ball has been swinging more this season. “I think it is swinging this year. I don’t know whether it’s ball or wickets or whatever, but when the ball swings and you get a few wickets upfront, it makes it easier for us to bowl the back end of the series,” he said.
In his conversations with Hazlewood during the spell, Bhuvneshwar said, “Yes, it was a good, good batting wicket, especially the ball, the way the ball was coming onto the bat. Yes, there was a swing, and I think it (was) one of the good days where you bowl it because nicking or getting bowled. So we were fortunate to get those initial wickets.”
Reflecting on the conditions, Bhuvneshwar admitted the team was caught off guard. “Definitely, especially the way wicket played in the last match, almost 250 plus in both innings. And yes, the way the ball swung away, it was, we were a bit surprised, and we wanted to make the most of it by taking the wickets and getting them out.”
Asked if he wanted an extra over, the veteran pacer said, “No, I wasn’t saying that because it was very hot and I was tired. So I was happy with the three overs and no, didn’t want to push myself, considering my age.”
–IANS
nr/bsk/