We Didn't Execute Well: Josh Hazlewood

Australian pacer, Josh Hazlewood summarises the third day of the ongoing Test between India and Australia in Brisbane. At stumps with a lead of 54 runs, Australia may just have their noses ahead, but India is not far behind either.

Indeed the visitors made a superb comeback with the help of a 123-run stand between Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar after losing 6 wickets at the score of 186.

Josh Hazlewood appreciates the effort put in by Thakur and Sundar to size down the trail to just 33 by the end of India’s innings. The lanky pacer opined, taking nothing away from the Indian batsman, that he and the rest of his teammates didn’t bowl to their best. Hazlewood also laments the half-chances not being capitalized by his fielders.

“Yes, it is obviously a crucial partnership (between Shardul and Washington), but then we had them. I think, 6/200 around that mark, so we thought we (were) on top there but to be fair the guys batted really well,” Josh Hazlewood said at the virtual post-day press conference.

“We didn”t probably execute well as we could have in that period but (we) created a few little half chances. On any other day, hopefully we take those, but credit to those two guys (Shardul and Washington). They batted beautifully and I think it just shows the wicket is pretty good.”

We did not build the pressure the way we wanted to: Josh Hazlewood

Josh Hazlewood, who returned with figures of 5/57, believes the hosts bowled really well in the early part of the day but bowled some loose deliveries later on. He points out that there were some short balls not threatening enough and wide of off-stump deliveries giving the batsman chance to free their arms.

Tim Paine dropped Sundar off the bowling of Mitchell Starc, and also some balls didn’t carry or carried on a half-volley. Josh Hazlewood reckons if the fielders had taken those chances, Australia would have got a healthier lead than just 33 runs.

“I thought the guys did bowl really well again and everyone else backed us up. Just let a few moments slipped, I think, and also a few a half chances there. If we could have grabbed them, it could have made a little difference. Probably bowled a touch short and a bit of width here and there and just let him off the hook a little bit there and probably did not build the pressure, the way we wanted to,” Josh Hazlewood added.

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