Josh Hazlewood celebrating wicket in Pink ball Test against India in Adelaide (X Photo)

Josh Hazlewood, the Australian fast bowler, significantly impacted India’s batting performance during the day-night pink ball Test match in Adelaide. India was bowled out for a mere 36 runs in their second innings.
No Indian batter managed to reach double figures. Despite holding a 53-run lead after the first innings, India couldn’t capitalize, allowing Australia to chase down the target of 90 runs and secure victory in the first Test of the 2022 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Hazlewood reflected on the match, describing the challenging conditions for bowlers in the second innings. He emphasized the difficulty of balancing attacking for wickets while preventing runs when the opposing team has a lead.

“They were a couple of wickets down overnight, and I don’t think I bowled that night. Then we came back the next day—it’s the toughest time to bowl when you’re in the second innings, and they’ve got a lead, so you’re trying to attack and take wickets while not leaking runs. It’s a tough little period of bowling, so I guess things just fell into place that way.” Josh Hazlewood told circket.com.au.
He attributed the success to hitting the right length consistently, resulting in a series of edges. He also acknowledged the early wickets taken by his teammates, which further pressured the Indian batsmen.

“I remember coming on as the first change. They just kept nicking everything; I didn’t really plan it. It was my first ball, and I was just trying to hit the length. We were off to a good start—they were 3 for 15—so I was trying to apply the pressure and keep it going, not trying to do anything fancy, just hitting the line and length. Luckily, I got the nick first up.”
“Rahane was a pretty big wicket in that series, particularly in Australia. He’s a good player. It was the fifth ball of the first over, so I wasn’t trying to do anything special—just sticking to line and length. The pink ball was doing enough on its own. They were probably hesitant, being 4 for 20 at that stage.” he added.
Hazlewood described Wriddhiman Saha’s wicket as fortunate, caught at square leg off a flick. He recognized that Saha was likely playing cautiously given the precarious situation of the Indian innings.
He then recalled his 200th Test wicket, that of Ravichandran Ashwin, caught behind off a faint edge.
“It wasn’t a big nick (of R Ashwin), but there was definitely a noise, and the bat was there. That was my 200th wicket—a very fine nick. I guess I was on a hat-trick, so I probably celebrated that one a bit more.”
Hazlewood emphasized the importance of dismissing the recognised batter when the tail is exposed.
“It was the sort of situation where a batter was batting with the tail. At this stage, even though they had only scored 80-odd runs, if the recognised batter gets on a roll with the strike, the innings can drag out. So, it’s always good to get the established batter out and leave two tail-enders together.”
Hazlewood concluded by expressing his satisfaction with the events in Adelaide, highlighting the positive memories he retained from the match.