Last Updated on 6 months ago by Charbel Coorey
Josh Hazlewood’s magnificent start to the season has continued, producing a man of the match performance in the second T20I against India. Hazlewood ripped through the Indian top order in an exhibition of seam bowling on an MCG pitch offering bounce.
In a format where unpredictability is important from a bowling perspective, Hazlewood continues to find success by keeping things simple. His control of length, ability to get the ball to rise, and skill to seam the ball both ways is a treat to watch.
Hazlewood finished the powerplay with figures of 3/6, giving Shubman Gill in particular a torrid time. Given how well he has been bowling of late – most notably in his all-time none-for in the Adelaide ODI – it was a matter of time before he would tick the wickets column over. He then dismissed Suryakumar Yadav with a peach and soon had Tilak Varma top edging an attempted hoick to the legside.
The fast bowler finished with figures of 3/13. From there, India were always behind the eight-ball. Abhishek Sharma tried his best, but the fact he was starved of the strike made the task all the more difficult. He was dismissed in the 19th over having faced 37 balls for his 68. India finished with 125, which Australia chased with 40 balls to spare.
“The way he [Hazlewood] bowled today, even I got surprised,” said Abhishek in the post-match press conference. “I haven’t seen something like this in T20s. This is something new for me as well.
“I’m a batter who wants to dominate. But when I was seeing on the other side how he’s bowling and even to me as well, it seems like he had a plan and he was just executing it.”
Attention turns to the Ashes for Josh Hazlewood after superb spell of 3/13
Hazlewood will now leave the Australian T20I squad to prepare for the Ashes. Fans on social media are also looking ahead to the Ashes, wondering how the England batsmen will cope with Hazlewood in such form.
The five-match Test series is expected to be played on some lively pitches, as has been the case in recent Australian summers. With Hazlewood so consistent and question marks around the England batting lineup’s ability to deal with the moving ball, it promises to make for fascinating viewing.
“He’s been immense, and looks at peak fitness. Think he could be in for an all-timer Ashes,” wrote one fan on X (formerly Twitter).
“The way poms bat England has no chance in this Ashes in Australia”, wrote another.
Hazlewood will play one Sheffield Shield match before the Ashes, according to cricket.com.au. “This year I’m going to miss a couple of T20s to do that. Which I certainly don’t like doing, missing games for Australia,” he said earlier in October.
“But in the long run it is about getting the best prep for the Ashes as well. You can’t have everything and that’s the trade off at the moment.”
The first Ashes Test begins on November 21 at Perth’s Optus Stadium.
