Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], April 25 (ANI): Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) pacer Josh Hazlewood had a memorable outing in helping his side get their first win in four attempts at the home ground of M Chinnaswamy Stadium during the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), as he crossed the 150 wicket mark in T20s.
Hazlewood produced a masterclass of an effort, preventing the Rajasthan Royals (RR) from chasing down 18 runs in the final two overs. In his final over, what was also the 19th of the innings, Hazlewood gave away just one run and picked up two wickets, ending with a spell of 4/33 in four overs. This left Yash Dayal to defend 17 runs in the final over, and RR was left 11 runs short of a win.
Now in 116 T20s, Hazlewood has taken 152 wickets at an average of 21.77, with best figures of 4/12. His economy rate in T20s is 7.57.
In the ongoing season, Hazlewood is tied with Gujarat Titans (GT) pacer Prasidh Krishna for the joint-most wickets, taking 16 scalps at an average of 17.18 and an economy rate of 8.37.
The Australian star also reached the milestone of 50 IPL wickets, having taken 51 scalps in 36 matches at an average of 21.27, with best figures of 4/25.
From 2020-21, his first two IPL seasons with Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Hazlewood took 12 wickets at an average of 29.75, with best figures of 3/24.
In other seasons, all with RCB, Hazlewood has taken 39 wickets at an average of 18.66, with best bowling figures of 4/25 and two four-wicket hauls.
Coming to the match, RR opted to bowl first after winning the toss. A 61-run stand between Phil Salt (26 in 23 balls, with four boundaries) and Virat kickstarted things off for RCB. Later, a 95-run stand followed between Virat, who made 70 in 42 balls, with eight fours and two sixes and Devdutt Padikkal (50 in 27 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes). Despite some quick wickets later, cameos from Tim David (23* in 15 balls, with two fours and a six) and Jitesh Sharma (20* in 10 balls, with four boundaries) powered RCB to 205/5 in 20 overs.
Sandeep Sharma (2/45) was the top bowler for RR, while Jofra Archer also delivered an impressive four-over spell of 1/33.
During the run-chase, Yashasvi Jaiswal (49 in 19 balls, with seven fours and three sixes) and Vaibhav Suryavanshi (16 in 10 balls, with two sixes) put on a quickfire 52-run stand, putting RCB under pressure early on. Later, Nitish Rana (28 in 22 balls, with three fours and a six), skipper Riyan Parag (22 in 10 balls, with two fours and two sixes) and Dhruv Jurel (47 in 34 balls, with three fours and three sixes) kept firing, with the equation down to 18 runs in final two overs with five wickets left. However, Krunal Pandya (2/31) removed Parag and Rana timely while Hazlewood (4/33) and Dayal (1/33) produced a clutch performance at the death phase, securing RCB an 11-run win.
RCB is at the third spot in the points table, with six wins and three losses, giving them 12 points. RR is in eighth spot with two wins and seven losses. They have suffered their fifth successive loss.
Hazlewood was given the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his breathtaking four-wicket haul. (ANI)
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