Australian star pacer Josh Hazlewood hailed his fellow Royal Challengers Bangalore speedster Mohammed Siraj for his exceptional bowling performance in this edition of the Indian Premier League, as the Indian speedster showed a lot of character bowl on the batting-friendly Chinnaswamy Stadium this season.
The Hyderabad-born pacer had breathed fire with the new ball in the league stage picking up important wickets in the powerplay. The Indian speedster had led the pace department in both home and away games with other RCB bowlers going for runs in this edition.
Speaking to the media, Josh Hazlewood lauded the Indian speedster for being terrific in IPL 2023, especially in the initial stage of the tournament, and reckons that he picked some important wickets in powerplay and praised the Indian pacer for his outstanding economy rate in the Bangalore home ground as it was difficult to control the run flow.
“I was a bit late getting there (to RCB this year), but before then he was on fire. He is up there at the top of the wickets every time, and the economy rate was probably the thing as bowling at Chinnaswamy is impossible sometimes and he was going at six or six-and-a-half an over,” Josh Hazlewood said.
“His control was great and he is bowling well,” he added.
Mohammed Siraj has impressed everyone with his ability to make a difference irrespective of the conditions. From being trolled for leaking too many runs for RCB to becoming a standout performer for the Faf du Plessis-led side in the IPL 2023. The 29-year-old showed the ability to swing and seam the new ball and when it gets old, he brings out the wobble-seam variation to get things done for the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Siraj is expected to lead India pace’s attack alongside Shami in the WTC finals against Australia and can be a valuable asset for the Indian side in the 2023 ODI World Cup, especially in Indian conditions.
It Is Going To Be Interesting For Both Teams How They Go About It – Josh Hazlewood
Josh Hazlewood is all set to play against his RCB teammate Mohammed Siraj in the World Test Championship final against India in the Oval, as the Australian pacer has a good record in England conditions and reckons that the game would be exciting one it is played in a natural venue.
“It is a strange stat that as I think I have just played a lot of cricket against them. What is going to be interesting is playing them here in England. It is going to be interesting for both teams how they go about it and how different it is to play them in Australia or India as typically you only play them there,” Josh Hazlewood said.
The Australian pacer would be crucial for their success in England conditions as they would have some help from the pitches and their better experiences in the country would give them a slight edge coming into the high-octane clash against India.