"The most important wicket was of MS Dhoni" - Virender Sehwag lauds Josh Hazlewood for his spell against CSK in IPL 2022

Former Indian batter Virender Sehwag praised the spell of Josh Hazlewood against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. The Australian pacer registered figures of 1/19 from four overs, which included the prized wicket of MS Dhoni.

Hazlewood was equally efficient in the powerplay as well as the death overs in a miserly spell. The 31-year-old put in a performance to remember against his former side to help the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) defend 174 at the MCA Stadium in Pune.

Opining that Hazlewood makes life difficult for the batters with his back-of-the-length deliveries, Virender Sehwag said on Cricbuzz:

"The most important wicket was of MS Dhoni. When Hazlewood comes on to bowl he does not try to bowl yorkers or bouncers. He bowls at a length where the batters have to take a risk. It is not easy to face him with the bounce he gets from his height."

The former Indian opener added:

"You don't see him bowling wide full tosses in an attempt to bowl yorkers. That is why he is dangerous, he is very experienced as well."

After restricting RCB to 173 in the first innings, CSK were on and off throughout the course of the run chase. With the pitch assisting turn, the RCB spinners were heavily involved in the proceedings.

Expressing his surprise over Uthappa and Rayudu getting out to the part-time off spin of Glenn Maxwell, Virender Sehwag added:

"I was surprised that Rayudu and Uthappa, two Indian batters, getting out to the off-spin of Maxwell. The over off whom you were supposed to score 20 runs in one over, you ended with a spell of 2-22."

The Australian all-rounder claimed both wickets in the space of two overs to leave the defending champions reeling at 74/3 at the halfway mark.

Click here to find out which is the next match in the IPL schedule 2022.

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"The first mistake CSK made was by making Ravindra Jadeja as captain" - Virender Sehwag

With this loss, the four-time champions are effectively out of the playoffs race. Their qualification will only be possible through an extraordinary set of results, which looks highly unlikely. CSK are now placed ninth in the IPL point table with three wins to their name.

Opining that CSK should have stuck with one captain over the course of the season, Virender Sehwag said:

"The first mistake CSK made was by making Ravindra Jadeja as captain right before the start of the season. Now even if the results were poor, Jadeja should have continued as captain till the end of the season."

Sehwag added:

"They could not find a settled playing XI, Gaikwad did not score runs. Had Dhoni been captain from the start, that would have been better, they might not have lost this many games."

CSK will next face the Delhi Capitals (DC) at the DY Patil Stadium on May 8 (Sunday).