Lucknow, May 7 (IANS) Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) pacer Josh Hazlewood believes that his side is carrying strong momentum and confidence despite the added pressure of defending their title as they prepare for a crucial IPL clash against Lucknow Super Giants at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

RCB entered the contest placed second on the points table with six wins from nine matches, while Lucknow are desperate to revive their fading playoff hopes after six consecutive defeats.

Speaking ahead of the match, Hazlewood said the short gap between fixtures had allowed the side to recover well and return refreshed for the business end of the tournament. “We’ve had a nice little break between games, so it feels like quite a while since we’ve played a match, but we’ve had some good training the last few days, so everything’s good,” Hazlewood told while speaking to the broadcasters.

The Australian quick acknowledged that being reigning champions naturally changes the way opponents approach games against RCB, but added that the tag has also boosted belief within the squad.

“It probably depends on which way you look at it. From my point of view, I feel like it gives us a bit of a boost. At the same time, everyone’s probably lifting a gear to play you as well to try and knock you off from last year. So yeah, a little bit of both, but in general, the confidence in the group is pretty high, and then I guess we’ve got a fair few wins at the start of the tournament. So yeah, things are going pretty well,” he said.

Hazlewood, who has frequently played at the Lucknow venue, feels the conditions at the Ekana Stadium generally provide assistance to bowlers, though that can sometimes bring additional expectations on the bowling attack.

“I’ve played here quite a bit at Lucknow. And yeah, the wicket’s not always ideal for batting, which brings us into the game, I guess. But I guess that can add more pressure sometimes, and you’re expected to do well and keep the team to a lower total than usual. It’s which way you look at it. As a whole group, we’ve been bowling really well throughout the whole season. And it’s a nice balance in our team. We’ve got sort of nearly every base covered,” he mentioned.

The pacer also praised Virat Kohli for continually evolving his batting approach and maintaining a strong scoring rate at the top of the order, as he said, “Yeah, he’s going really well at the top of the order there. We know how important the top three are at setting those foundations and batting. They probably bat the majority of the overs throughout the tournament. So he’s seemed to just keep upping that strike rate every year on year and keeping on level terms with some of these youngsters who are smashing it everywhere. So yeah, he’s in as good a form as any time.”

Hazlewood also said that he was looking forward to renewing his battle with fellow Australian Mitchell Marsh, LSG’s opening batter, whom he faced earlier this season during RCB’s win over Lucknow in Bengaluru.

“We’ve already played Lucknow this year in Chinnaswamy. I didn’t get him out, but I managed to hit him a few times, which was good. Yeah, it’s always funny coming up against guys you’ve played your whole life with. You know, we both know each other inside out, and I seem to find that, you know, with every team you play, there’s someone who knows your game really well. So yeah, it’s a bit of cat and mouse out there in the middle,” he stated.

–IANS

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