Josh Hazlewood claimed career-best figures of 4/25 to bowl the Royal Challengers Bangalore to victory against the Lucknow Super Giants at the D Y Patil stadium in Navi Mumbai on Tuesday, April 19, 2022.
There was no stopping the 6' 5" tall Australian fast bowler who claimed a wicket in each of his four overs, to play a big role in RCB's 18 run win.
Called into bowl the third over, Hazlewood provided RCB with the early breakthrough as he dismissed Quinton de Kock, caught behind for three.
In his next over, he had Manish Pandey caught at square leg for six. Those two early blows helped RCB restrict Lucknow to 44/2 in the first six overs of the Powerplay.
The normally aggressive K L Rahul was forced into rebuilding mode as he looked to stitch together a partnership. This allowed RCB to string together a few tight overs and increase the pressure further.
When Hazlewood came back for his second spell in the death overs, Lucknow still had a chance with 54 needed from four overs and the big-hitting duo of Marcus Stoinis and Ayush Badoni in the middle.
Hazlewood dealt Lucknow's chances a huge blow when he had Badoni (13) caught behind before he assured RCB of victory in his final over when he had fellow Aussie Stoinis (24) bowled off an inside edge.
Hazlewood now has eight wickets from three games at an economy rate of 7.17.
