RCB’s support staff took a total of their time with Hazlewood, focusing on having him fully fit for the playoffs. The plan worked, and he gave a commanding bowling display in the Qualifier 1 against Punjab Kings. After Hazlewood had got the wickets of Shreyas Iyer and Josh Inglis right at the start, RCB dominated the proceedings and bowled PBKS out for just 101 runs.Â
After the match, Hazlewood said they had been bowling well and many bowlers have been working well together. He also said that he was a bit surprised to see how much assistance the pitch gave, which was good for his comeback from a shoulder injury. I worked hard on my shoulder during my time off and had some solid practice sessions to get back in shape. It felt great to be back on the field, especially when the pitch supported our bowling. I didn’t have to go for fast yorkers coming back from injury, which was a plus, he said having taken three crucial wickets to push RCB through to the final.
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Hazlewood said that the bowling team has only gotten better. We’ve been working smoothly together. Everyone knows his or her role, and our mixture is fairly good. We all have different strength we just need to use them at the right time. Any of us can step up any given moment, be it at the start of a game, the middle, or near the end. We also have occasions whereby we’ve defended scores well with a clear plan and execution,” he added.