Follow UsAhead of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s clash against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), all the focus was on Josh Hazlewood, who had returned to India and was expected to possibly play a part in what was a must-win clash for the Reds.
Come the toss, however, there was disappointment for RCB fans, as Hazlewood did not make the final cut. Instead, Hazlewood’s absence - combined with Lungi Ngidi’s unavailability - meant that RCB handed a debut to Sri Lanka’s Nuwan Thushara, their very own Lasith Malinga regen.
Thushara had blown hot and cold in his seven IPL appearances for Mumbai Indians (MI) last year, so naturally, expectations were low.
However, the 30-year-old from Sri Lanka subverted expectations in sensational fashion, bowling three overs in the powerplay while conceding just 19 runs. Thushara, with the new ball, bamboozled the LSG batters with his full outswingers, and one such delivery castled debutant Matthew Breetzke.
Across his first 8 balls, Thushara spammed full outswingers but on the third ball of the third over of the game, Breetzke got pinged on the head by an unexpected bouncer. It went for four, but it stunned the opener a bit, and pushed him on the backfoot.
On the very next ball, Breetzke, clearly rattled, looked to pump a full toss from Thushara through covers but he was castled in sensational fashion by late swing from the Sri Lankan. The South African opener thought he had the line covered, but the ball swung really late, beat his bat and crashed into off-stump.
No Hazlewood, no problem for RCB?