Last Update on: November 19th, 2023 at 04:28 pm
Former Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram has picked the player who will trouble India in the World Cup finals. India’s batting hero Virat Kohli had a terrific campaign in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 as he scored over 750 runs in the tournament. However, one of the threats that Australia have in store for India’s batting maestro is the Australian pacer, Josh Hazlewood.
Wasim Akram believes that Josh Hazlewood is someone who doesn’t get praised a lot and is kind of an ‘unsung hero’ in the team. He talks about the length that Hazlewood hits early on and his ability to swing the ball both ways. Akram considers Hazlewood as Australia’s main weapon, especially against India’s batting hero Virat Kohli.
“We don’t talk about him quite a bit, he (Josh Hazlewood) is kind of an unsung hero who doesn’t get enough attention but he is one of the main weapons for Australia. We go towards Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins their captain. But this guy Hazlewood, it’s just the length he bowls with the new ball which would trouble any batter no matter how good their technique is. He goes back of a length swinging both ways early on in the innings and he is a tall guy and generates extra bounce,” said Wasim Akram.
Watch- Wasim Akram Praising Josh Hazlewood For His Lengths
"He has a great record against #Kohli, he can trouble him" Legendary #WasimAkram terms #JoshHazlewood the unsung hero of #Australia.#ASportsHD #ARYZAP #CWC23 #ThePavilion #WasimAkram #ShoaibMalik #MoinKhan #FakhreAlam #MisbahulHaq #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/PC6tOPMIMa
— ASports (@asportstvpk) November 19, 2023
Wasim Akram further talked about Virat Kohli’s record against Josh Hazlewood as the Indian batting maestro has struggled against him. Josh Hazlewood has taken Kohli’s wicket five times in ODIs and the batter just averages 10 against the Aussie seamer. Wasim Akram says that these stats give a lot of confidence to the bowler when they face a batter in an all-important game.
“His record against Kohli is phenomenal in ODIs. Virat Kohli has managed to score only 51 runs against him at a meagre average of 10 and has got out on his delivery five times. So, as a bowler, you get a lot of confidence knowing that you have troubled a particular batter and he struggles in front of you. You think that yes I can get him out in a knockout game, I can build the pressure on him in a World Cup final and that gives you some extra confidence,” he added.
India is batting first in the World Cup final against Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The Aussies have given some blows to the Indian line-up as both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have departed to the pavilion after scoring 54 and 47 respectively. Josh Hazlewood is wicket-less currently and has been picked on by Rohit Sharma early on in the innings.
It is going to be an interesting battle between the two cricketing giants as they both fight for the World Cup trophy. Australia has already won the World Cup trophy for a record five times and this could be their sixth title victory. Whereas India is looking to clinch their third World Cup title.
