Josh Hazlewood was instrumental in Australia clinching their maiden T20 World Cup title. Australia skipper Aaron Finch admitted that Hazlewood’s experience of playing in the Indian Premier League 2021 had a positive impact on their successful campaign.
The Aussie pacer was exceptional in the tournament, picking 11 scalps in seven games at an economy of 7.29 and a wicket every 13 balls. His impact in the powerplay was significant, where he rocked the opponents back with 7 wickets in 15 powerplay overs at 5.53 rpo. Hazlewood was Australia’s best performing bowler in the final, claiming 3 for 16 in his four.
Finch acknowledged in the post-match conference that Hazlewood sharing his experience of playing for Chennai Super Kings in the UAE leg of IPL 2021 was immensely helpful for the team. Having played on these wickets prior to the World Cup, Hazlewood had the right idea of what works and what doesn’t.
“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 speciality, was tough to hit. And it was really important that he passed on that information.”
Hazlewood did well in CSK’s title-winning campaign, picking 11 scalps in nine matches. Finch added that the Aussie quick’s performance in that tournament helped him edge Kane Richardson for a spot in the playing XI.
“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’s personal form wasn’t great in the tournament, having managed only 135 runs in nine innings at an average of 19.28 and strike rate of 116.37. But he has etched his name in the history books as the first men’s captain to lead Australia to a T20 World Cup trophy.
