Hazlewood has 'improved' in 2026: RCB vice-captain Jitesh

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/royal-challengers-bengaluru/ObLbexsS/"]Bengaluru[/a] defeated [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/lucknow-super-giants/juEriKhI/"]Lucknow[/a] by five wickets to ‌draw level on eight points with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/rajasthan-royals/S2MQPiFG/"]Rajasthan Royals[/a], edging ahead ‌on net run-rate.[/p][p]While veteran batter [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kohli-virat/U7w3X0qp/"]Virat Kohli[/a] remains the ‌headline act and is the leading IPL run-scorer this season with 228 runs, it is the depth of the bowling unit that ‌has underpinned Bengaluru's early consistency.[/p][p]Australia quick [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hazlewood-josh/zkKrMn0r/"]Hazlewood[/a] ⁠struggled with hamstring and ‌Achilles injuries last year and missed the Twenty20 World Cup, ​but after being eased back slowly into Bengaluru's campaign he is starting to look sharper, vice-captain [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sharma-jitesh/OhoqN3bF/"]Jitesh ​Sharma[/a] said.[/p][p]"[b]He's got rest, so he becomes quicker, fitter. He's very confident about his body now,[/b]" he told reporters.[/p][p]"[b]He ⁠has worked really ​hard on his injury and he's like a more improved player than last year.[/b]"[/p][p]Hazlewood's comeback has coincided with the emergence of uncapped pacer [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nalkande-darshan/bgM1Aj3R/"]Dar[/a], who was signed for 60 ‌million Indian rupees ($643,245) ahead of the 2025 season as a long-term investment.[/p][embed guid="ad86d862-82c5-4ecd-b24c-1c9992bf78d0" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu1IN-lwTfk&t=11s" social-type="youtube" /][p]Dar featured only twice during last year's title run, with Hazlewood, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kumar-bhuvneshwar/CWS7WKbj/"]Bhuvneshwar Kumar[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/dayal-yash/MkRvPYgc/"]Yash Dayal[/a] the established pace options.[/p][p]Against Lucknow, Dar rewarded that patience, combining with Hazlewood on a dry surface to deny Lucknow any early momentum and returning figures of 4-24.[/p][p]Hazlewood complemented the effort with a miserly 1-20, while [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pandya-krunal/d2yt1Myd/"]Krunal Pandya[/a] provided control ‌through the middle overs.[/p][p]"[b]He [/b](Dar) [b]has worked a lot on ​yorkers and slower ones. He knew the IPL was ‌around the corner and how one has to be perfect to play with a certain intensity[/b]," said Jitesh.[/p][p]"Errors will be there, so you practice so much that it becomes muscle memory. That's what helps you ⁠perform under pressure."[/p][p]Bengaluru next host ⁠Delhi Capitals on Saturday.[/p]