Australian fast bowler Josh Hazlewood revealed that his stint with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the second leg of the IPL 2021 season in the UAEhelped him learn the way to bowl in the recently concluded T20 World Cup.
The Aussies won the trophy for the first time in their history, defeating rivals New Zealand by eight wickets in the final on Sunday. Hazlewood was instrumental in the final, ending with brilliant figures of 3/16 in his four-over quota.
In total, the tall right-arm pacer snared 11 wickets at an average of 15.9, only behind Trent Boult in the wickets column. Speaking about the planning and preparation ahead of the T20 World Cup, Hazlewood said:
photo credit: Getty Images.
“I’ve learned a fair bit during the IPL with Chennai (Super Kings) and the other bowlers around. They’re all from different backgrounds. You just learn little things from people along the way and try and put them into practice.”
He also said that he’s looking forward to taking the same amount of confidence into the Ashes series this December.There’s certainly times within Test matches where your T20 bowling comes into play. The more T20 you play, the more confident you’re going to get in those change-ups.”
Josh Hazlewood’s performances in IPL forced his way into the starting XI – Aaron Finch
Australian skipper Aaron Finch felt that Hazlewood’s stint with CSK in the IPL 2021 season forced the think-tank to include him in the playing XI over the T20 specialist, Kane Richardson.
“He (Hazlewood) was really important to our bowling group. To be able to share his experience at CSK was really important – the lengths to bowl, particularly at the end of the tournament, where the wickets start to get a little bit more worn and hard lengths, which is Josh’s specialty, was tough to hit.“
Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins. Image Source-Getty
“And it was really important that he passed on that information. Honestly, his performances in the IPL probably forced his way into the starting XI over Kane Richardson, who is a wonderful T20 bowler and someone who has been so important for us. But yeah, that was a tough call,” Finch mentioned.
Australia defeated New Zealand by eight wickets courtesy of twin fifties from Mitchell Marsh and David Warner. The duo put on a 92-run second-wicket stand to take the Aussies over the line in the 19th over.
