'Josh is such a key figure for us -- not just with his bowling, because we know it's world-class and what he does time and again -- but also as part of the bowling unit, that sort of calm head out there for everybody else to lean on.'
Questions about Josh Hazlewood's fitness were posed repeatedly at Royal Challengers Bengaluru's press conferences ahead of their Indian Premier League playoff and the Australian showed on Thursday why there was so much interest in his availability.
Returning to action after spending a month on the sidelines recovering from a shoulder injury, Hazlewood helped put Bengaluru on the cusp of a first IPL title with figures of 3-21 against Punjab Kings.
Three-times runners-up Bengaluru bundled out Punjab for 101 and then chased down the target in 10 overs to book their place in Tuesday's final.
On a pitch that offered swing and bounce, Hazlewood took the key wickets of fellow Australian Josh Inglis and rival captain Shreyas Iyer, blows which Punjab never really recovered from.
"The bowling unit was obviously back to the unit that bowled for most of the tournament, and again, we knew our roles really well," Hazlewood told reporters after their eight-wicket win.
"There was a little bit of seam movement, the bounce was probably a little bit inconsistent, so we sort of utilised that as best as we could."
Hazlewood's 21 wickets from 11 games make him the third highest wicket-taker this season behind Noor Ahmed (24) and Prasidh Krishna (23), both of whom have played three games more than the Australian.
On Mullanpur's spicy wicket, a target of around 150 could have proved tricky, said Hazlewood.
"They probably just had to pull back a little bit and try and get a score on the board, you know, 150-160 would have been a difficult chase potentially," he added.
"But I think we only let them bat as well as they could have, through our bowling."
The lively wicket also meant Hazlewood did not have to push his body to the limit on his return from injury.
"The wicket helped obviously, I didn't have to bowl any fast yorkers or anything like that, so yeah, it's feeling not too bad."
"There's no better place than I think out in the middle, obviously you've got to bowl more, more hours of training from time to time to build up for a Test, but to get that intensity right up, there's no better place than the IPL," he asserted after his match-turning bowling.
"I don't bowl too much differently in Test match cricket than tonight," said the seasoned Australian pacer.
Talking more about his recovery from the shoulder injury, Hazlewood said, "(I have) worked really hard the last few weeks on the shoulders to get back and got some good overs into it the last sort of 10 days, and yeah it is feeling good to be back...
"...So, I was happy with tonight, the wicket helped obviously didn't it? Not having to bowl fast yorkers or anything like that. So yeah it is feeling good to be back."
RCB opener Phil Salt emphasised the importance of having the Australian in their ranks.
"Josh is such a key figure for us -- not just with his bowling, because we know it's world-class and what he does time and again -- but also as part of the bowling unit, that sort of calm head out there for everybody else to lean on. It's massive.
"And we've obviously got Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) as well doing the same job. So to have Josh back in the team and contributing to the bowling unit, making the observations he does, and then performing the way he did -- that's almost the cherry on top.
"So pleased that he's back fit again for us." Salt said.
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