IPL 2023: It was nice to have a hit out – Josh Hazlewood on his impressive comeback

Royal Challengers Bangalore fast bowler Josh Hazlewood was delighted after making a solid comeback to action after they defeated Lucknow Super Giants by 18 runs at the Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow on Monday. Hazlewood, was out of action with an injury, was able to hit the ground running for RCB.

Earlier, Hazlewood was named in the Border-Gavaskar series against India but he was later ruled out with an Achilles injury. Hazlewood said it was nice to have a hit out in the middle after spending a lot of time on the sidelines.

The Australian accounted for Ayush Badoni and Naveen-ul-Haq in his fine spell against LS. Furthermore, he conceded only 15 runs in the three overs he bowled and thus played an instrumental role in skittling out LSG on 108 runs in the second innings.

In a post-match press conference, Hazlewood shared his thoughts on his comeback and said: “The body’s feeling pretty good. It was nice to have a hit out in the middle tonight [Monday]. It’s just so different playing in a game compared to training. The Achilles is feeling pretty good. Obviously only bowled three overs and fielded the 20, so tonight was a little stepping stone further down the track.”

In fact, RCB could only post a below-par score of 126 runs on the board after electing to bat first. Mohammed Siraj gave a perfect start to his team as he dismissed Kyle Mayers in the first over of the innings and thus RCB were able to get the momentum they needed.

The Aussie quick commented: “It started in Siraj’s first over. I think a wicket and one run offered. It was a great start and we sort of jumped on the back of that. I think at half-time we knew we were still in the game; it was a tough wicket to bat on.

“We knew that we had to bowl them out to win the game. If they had seven-eight batters bat the 20 overs, they were going to get 130 runs. It was all about attacking and taking wickets.”

RCB bowlers were right on the money and they were able to reap rewards for their good show. RCB will next take on Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on Saturday.