The battle between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) is set to ensue at the Narendra Modi Stadium at Ahmedabad. All eyes will be on their lead bowler, Josh Hazlewood, for his presence gives a further boost to an already strong bowling setup. Hazlewood has played in 11 matches for RCB and taken 21 wickets at an average 15.80, with a best performance of 4/33. He tops the wicket-taking charts for RCB this season and is fourth overall. Fans have proudly bestowed on him the moniker ‘Hazlegod’ for his uncanny ability to snag important wickets when it really matters.
Hazlewood draws from a shade of experience garnered in franchise and international cricket, sporting that Aussie attitude of getting down to play and winning. Hazlewood is seasoned and is well-known to be a highly accurate bowler. He has won nearly all of the big titles-a U19 World Cup, a 50-over World Cup, and, of course, the IPL. Fun fact: he has never been on the losing side in an important final, a fact his fans love to emphasize.
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A brief look at his finals performances is:
– Wickets of 4/30 against Pakistan in the 2010 U19 World Cup final (Player of the Match).
– Registered bowling figures of 3/22 in the 2012 Champions League T20 final for Sydney Sixers against the Lions, and had a fairly comfortable finish.
– Claimed 6/50 against Western Australia in the 2014 Sheffield Shield final, even though the match ended in a draw and was won on points by his team.
In the 2015 World Cup final, he bowled, scoring almost giving no bonus runs: 0/30 in eight overs, tying Australia’s win with New Zealand.
– In the BBL 2019-2020 final, he bagged 3/18 in another short match for the Sixers.
– For Chennai Super Kings at IPL 2021, he took 2/29 against the Kolkata Knight Riders.
– Most recently, in the T20 World Cup 2021 final, he grabbed 3/16 against New Zealand to surely aid Australia in securing the title.
So far, Hazlewood has taken 23 wickets in finals with the best being 6/50. In T20 finals specifically, he’s taken 11 wickets in 4 matches at an average of 7.72 and an economy rate of 5.66.
Will Hazlewood bag a few more wickets and enable RCB to accomplish their final goal?
