Low-key Hazlewood takes the boring road to success

As far as turnarounds go, conceding seven runs in the last two overs of a T20 humdinger from 26 in the first two is pretty dramatic.

- Somshuvra Laha

KOLKATA: Not quite so if the bowler is Josh Hazlewood.

Here is how Hazlewood's season has looked: He is joint highest (alongside Prasidh Krishna) wicket-taker with 16 scalps, averages 17.18 runs per wicket and strikes every 12.31 balls—the best among all overseas bowlers in this IPL.

His performance in 2022 bears striking similarities, only this time the strike rate and average has improved significantly. And yet, Hazlewood remains largely low-key that in no way should be mistaken for the absence of a protagonist energy in a franchise teeming with stars.

Thursday was another reminder of that. Just when it seemed that fortune was finally starting to favour Dhruv Jurel, Hazlewood returned with a plan. The first ball was wide because Hazlewood tried to follow Jurel. But next ball, he rushed Jurel into a pull before rolling his fingers over the off-cutter. Another slow off-cutter, this time shorter, and Jurel had to almost reach for it but Virat Kohli restricted it to a single.