After on-field umpire Chris Gaffaney didn't call a wide to one of his deliveries to Marcus Stoinis during Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) match against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on April 19 at the Dr. DY Patil Sports Complex in Mumbai, RCB pacer Josh Hazlewood believes the luck of the green went his way.
In an attempt to smash Hazlewood through the on-side, Stoinis moved across far outside his off-stump. The bowler responded by delivering the ball nearly outside the pitch, but umpire Gaffaney did not call it wide. The umpire's decision had Stoinis perplexed. Hazlewood also stated that he lucked out on a call.
“I tried to turn around and get back to my mark as quick as I could. I got pretty lucky on that one [on the ball not called a wide before Stoinis wicket] so I might have to get him a beer after that," Hazlewood was quoted as saying in the post-match presentation ceremony.
Stoinis attempted to find room to strike Hazlewood on the leg-side once more on the next ball. However, a deflection from his pads this time directed the ball towards the stumps. And a fuming Stoinis yelled out an expletive while leaving the crease.
IPL 2022: Faf du Plessis says century is “around the corner” for him after hitting 96 against LSG
Though Hazlewood took 4/25, it was RCB skipper Faf du Plessis who was awarded the Player of the Match scoring 96 off 64 balls. Hazlewood also praised Du Plessis for his match-winning 96 in RCB's 18-run victory over KL Rahul and Co.
"It's always a challenge there at the end when batters are coming hard but we obviously had that big side there to try to use and I thought we used it pretty well all night. Faf's been brewing. He's had a few lean games coming off but tonight he took his time and kept the score going along and finished with a bang, so credit to him,” Hazlewood added.
The Challengers won their sixth game in IPL 2022 on Tuesday, moving them up to second place in the points table. The Royal Challengers Bangalore's next match is on April 23 at the Brabourne Stadium against the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
(With India Today inputs)
