On the day four of the Perth Test between the hosts Australia and the visitors India, two skippers –Tim Paine and Virat Kohli – were involved in the verbal spats and since then, it makes a warmer condition in the on-field game. However, the Aussie pacer Josh Hazlewood claimed that it was all in good spirits.
After the day four of the Perth Test, when Hazlewood was asked about this, he said, “I think it was all good fun, it’s quite competitive out there as you know and there’s going to be words from time to time but it was all in good spirits.”
“I don’t think we read too much into it, we go about our work as we see fit and the Indians can do what they like. We control what we control and our behaviour is what we control. We’ll worry about that and let everything else take care of itself.”
Also read: Mohammed Shami: I Feel There Should Have Been A Spinner
After Australia was bundling out for 243 runs in their second innings as they set a challenging 287-run target for the visitors, India ended the day on 112/5. While the top-ranked in-form Test batsman Virat Kohli was dismissed cheaply for just 17 runs in the fourth innings, Hazlewood claimed that Kohli wasn’t their only focus in this Test series. He further claimed that the wickets of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane were also similar important for them as both have been dismissed by Hazlewood in the fourth innings of this Test match.
The Aussie pacer claimed, “I see Pujara as a big wicket and Ajinkya Rahane as well. So the nos. 3, 4, 5 as the key wickets and we see it a bit unstable in the other parts of the order. Certainly not all the focus is on Virat Kohli.”
Also read: Mike Hussey Feels Virat Kohli Is Out Of Control
As the visitors are struggling hugely at present, Hazlewood is dreaming a crucial victory for Australia in this game to level this Test series. However, he also added that they still had to do a lot of work but confident about their success.
Hazlewood added, “I didn’t go to the UAE, so it feels a bit of a long time between wins, but there’s still a lot of work to do tomorrow. Anytime I’m playing in Australia we feel pretty confident, especially the bowlers feel very confident in getting 20 wickets and a result.
“Last year, we got there four times out of five, so we are feeling pretty confident. It’s just putting that into practice more often than not this summer.”
After some disappointed innings in this Test series, Usman Khawaja finally played a crucial role for the team in their second innings of this Test match. At the very crucial time of the innings, Khawaja played a 72-run knock that widely helped Australia to score 243 runs in this innings and put a challenging fourth innings target in the front of the visitors.
Talking about Khawaja, Hazlewood said, “With Steve (Smith) and Dave (Warner) not here, a bit more pressure falls on Usman. I think he’s the most capped batsman with Shaun Marsh. Experience counts a lot in these situations and there are quite a lot of young guys in top six. Usman felt that responsibility a bit more this season and he’s been struggling the first couple of innings but to see him fight today made everyone a bit more relaxed.”
The Aussie pacer also praised their Test skipper Tim Paine for carrying the team in the calm and composed way at the very difficult period.
Also watch – Virat Kohli and Tim Paine Engages In A Banter
Hazlewood added, “Tim Paine keeps things quite calm and composed and he doesn’t get too flustered at any stages really and you could see that with the bat today, the way he batted and he was pretty unlucky to get that one today. In the field he leads very well, nice and calm.
“He’s quite an experienced player, and I think he’s had time out of the game as well, so he knows himself quite well, not just as a cricketer but as a person. So off the field he’s great to talk to about life, and the cricket side takes care of itself. He’s been really great.”
